Fix My Broken Wings
by Longing for Oblivion
Summary: After Flack breaks up with her and starts dating Stella, Angell gets involved with Chuck - even though he has a reputation of violent behavior. As things turn from bad to worse for Angell Flack and the CSIs have to hurry in order to save her.
1. Angell's dark secret

_**Discs.:**__ I don't own CSI NY nor its characters!_

_**Summary:**__ Some time after Flack breaks up with her and starts a relationship with Stella, Angell gets involved with Chuck, a detective from a different precinct - even though he has a reputation of violent behavior. When Flack finds out that Chuck is hurting Angell and he and Stella try to make her leave him Angell does not only refuse to listen to them but also starts to avoid them. As things turn from bad to worse for Angell Flack and the CSIs have to hurry in order to save her._

_**Pairings:**__ Angell/OC and Fiesta at the beginning, hints of Mac having feelings for Angell throughout the story, main pairing will be Flangell_

_**Warnings:**__ Major warnings for violence, more specific details as those parts come up_

_**A/N:**__ Well, here's what happens when I change in the middle of a story my mind about the pairing - I delete the original story, rewrite if necessary the already finished chapters and repost the story then. If I'm honest I had already pretty much from the beginning doubts about putting Angell with Mac, now however, I'm certain that I want this to be a Flangell story. I also took this chance to correct some grammar and spelling errors. Anyways I hope you don't mind the changes! _

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_1. Angell's dark secret_

Taking a look at his watch Flack sighed frustrated, realizing that his shift had already started about fifteen minutes ago. Well, that fact won't bother him that much if this would have been the first time that he was late, but unfortunately it wasn't.

In fact he hadn't been on time in more than a week, certain things keeping him up too long so he basically overslept each day. Of course Captain Carlisle wasn't happy about that and Flack knew that eventually he would get in trouble because of his repeated lateness.

However, one thing was for sure - he couldn't blame Stella for being late, after all, she managed to not just be always on time, but she got to the lab even before her shift started. Well, maybe he was just getting old...

That thought caused him to frown as he pushed the door to the locker-room open. Yeah, as if _**that **_would be a rational explanation! He should come up with a better excuse or he would get his ass kicked by Carlisle.

Looking up while walking up to his locker, the concern about his probably terribly upset boss vanished from his mind as he noticed Angell standing in front of her locker - only wearing a pair of blue jeans and a red bra as he realized almost immediately.

Well, normally he would apologize for walking in on her changing clothes and even more for staring at her, but this time his mind was way too occupied by processing what his eyes had caught sight of - a quite big bruise on her upper, left arm - as that he would care about that.

By now he was standing right next to her, an angry frown on his face.

"What?" Angell asked, her voice filled with annoyance as she grabbed a dark-blue t-shirt from her locker and put it on.

"Did Chuck do this to you?" Flack demanded to know, though he wondered why he was even bothering to ask, knowing that he was right anyways.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't act as if you didn't know that - I mean, the bruise on your arm! Why the hell do you let him do this to ya?"

"First of all, it's none of your goddamn business and second what makes you think that Chuck has something to do with it?"

"Well, maybe because he's a worthless scumbag with a very bad temper and a history of violent behavior, who should be in prison instead of working with the PD!" He paused for a moment,

"And furthermore it _**is**_ my business, because I care about you..."

"You know, maybe you should worry more about your permanent lateness instead of making stupid accusations!" Angell retorted.

"For Christ's sake, Jess...You have to get out of this relationship before you end up dead - not that I understand why you let him treat you like garbage in the first place!"

"You don't know _**anything**_ - so stay the hell out of _**my **_business!" Angell yelled, glaring angrily at him, before she slammed her locker shut and stormed out of the room.

Flack couldn't help but sigh, letting his head hang for a moment, then he forced himself to hurry up a bit, knowing that he was indeed in trouble because of his lateness.

_At the scene :_

Entering the apartment of the victim Flack couldn't help but frown as he saw Angell talk with Mac and Stella. After a moment of thinking he followed her into the other room, deciding that he simply _**couldn't **_just watch anymore how this bastard kept hurting her.

Closing the door behind him he watched her roll her eyes when she noticed him.

"What do you want? We've got work to do..." She stated, her eyes making pretty clear that she wasn't in the mood to talk with him, but currently he didn't give a damn about that.

"We weren't finished talking when you stormed out of the locker-room..." He paused for a few seconds,

"You should better face the fact that I'm not gonna drop this - I'm not gonna watch how this guy is breaking you down, Jess!" Flack forced himself to keep his voice low, even though he felt more like yelling at her.

"Damnit! Why can't you just give me a break, for Christ's sake? It's _**my **_life - I can do what I want, so either you accept that or you leave me alone!" With that Angell attempted to step around him and leave.

But he chose to not let her, figuring that this was actually the best opportunity to talk about this, considering that she won't put up a fight with him if someone could hear what they were talking about.

"Get out of my way." Angell demanded, her voice shaking with anger, hands clenched to fists and shot a death glare at him.

Normally the expression in her eyes would have been enough for him to back down, knowing better than to mess with her when she was that angry, this time, however, he decided to take the risk and ignore his inner voice telling him to leave her alone.

"I'm not even thinking about it." Flack leaned against the door, arms crossed in front of his chest,

"Like it or not - we're _**gonna **_have this conversation here and now."

"Get out of my way, Flack - I'm not gonna repeat it again..."

"What do you actually think - that he will stop hitting you all of a sudden? Damnit Jess, you know as well as I do that it will only get worse and worse - until he beats you to death one day! And trust me, I don't have any intention of letting that happen!" He paused for a short moment,

"If you refuse to listen to what I have to say I can also find someone you _**will **_listen to, got that?"

"I got some news for you - _**you **_can't tell me anything! And believe me if I find out that you said even a single word to anyone about this I'll make you pay for it big time! Now get out of my way or Captain Carlisle being terribly mad at you will be your smallest problem!"

Realizing that it was quite pointless to keep trying to reason with her he surrendered and stepped aside so she could open the door and leave. Well, maybe he should really stay out of her business, considering that she apparently didn't give a damn about him worrying about her.

When he left the room as well his cell phone started ringing, interrupting his train of thought. Releasing a sigh he hurried to answer the call.

After hanging up he couldn't help but frown before heading over to Mac.

"Hey, I just got called in on another case..."

"Punishment for your repeated lateness?" Lindsay, who had been talking with Mac, wanted to know.

"Very funny, Monroe...Anyways, keep me posted on this one nonetheless."

Hearing that Mac frowned but nodded without asking questions and Flack left.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this. I actually only changed a few details in this chapter. Anyways, please take the time to REVIEW!_


	2. Confrontations

_**A/N:**__ In this chapter there are a few bigger changes, but basically it's actually not that different than the original version._

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_2. Confrontations_

Sitting in the break-room at the lab, Flack couldn't help but get completely lost in his thoughts. He simply couldn't stop wondering what he should do about Angell, how he could make her see that he was right - that she couldn't keep doing this to herself. However, the problem was he simply couldn't figure out how to do that, not to mention that Angell had apparently no intention to even listen to what he had to say.

A frustrated sigh escaped his mouth as he came to the conclusion that he won't find a solution for the problem - at least not on his own, but if he told someone Angell would get even more furious and he would be in huge trouble...On the other hand he prefered to deal with a damn upset Jess Angell to the alternative - losing her forever was simply no option, and he knew that he would lose her in the end if he didn't do something to make her leave Chuck.

"So, you're still in trouble for being late?" Stella wanted to know as she entered the break-room and smiled cheerfully at him. However, when he looked up at her and she noticed the exhaustion written all over his face, her smile vanished and was replaced by an expression somewhere between concern and curiosity.

"Okay, Flack...What's bugging you lately?"

He hesitated for a moment, debating with himself about whether he should really tell her, but then he let his head hang and stated,

"I'm worried 'bout Jess..."

Stella gave him a questioning glance, but remained quiet, waiting for him to tell her the reason.

"He's beating her..." Flack looked up and they locked eyes for a moment.

Hearing that the last bit of cheerfulness left her face.

"What?" It wasn't like she hadn't understood what he had said the first time - after all, words like that didn't leave much room for misinterpretation - but right now she couldn't come up with anything else, her mind still too busy with processing Flack's revelation.

"Chuck is beating her..." Flack repeated, and she noticed for the first time that he didn't just seem exhausted but also desperate.

"Did you talk with her?" Stella asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah, but she made pretty clear that it's none of my business and that she doesn't give a damn about what I think. And unfortunately I can't force her to leave him, now can I?"

They locked eyes for a moment then she wanted to know,

"So, that's why you have so much trouble sleeping recently?" Seeing him nod slightly Stella added,

"For how long do you already know about this?"

Flack just stared at her, or well, actually he was more staring through her, as he contemplated about the answer to that question. Eventually he sighed and stated,

"A while..." It was true he realized sadly, he _**had **_known it in the back of his mind now for quite some time, but until earlier that day he had hoped he was wrong,

"I mean, I noticed how much she has changed in the passed two months - and that along with Chuck's reputation..." Flack trailed off, getting lost in thought again.

Well, Stella had to admit that Flack was right, Angell had really changed a lot recently - her smiles had become more and more a rarity, she avoided to spend more time than absolutely necessary around anyone from the lab, often enough it seemed like she was miles away with her mind and she was obviously totally worn out by a lack of sleep.

After a moment of hesitation Stella mused,

"But it's not only the worry about Angell that's keeping you awake, now is it?"

Flack couldn't help but sigh and refused to look directly at Stella, instead he focused his eyes on the table between them.

"I feel responsible...If I hadn't called it off she won't be with him..." He said quietly and a moment later he glanced up from the table.

Stella reached out her right hand and got a hold of his left one, then she told him with a trace of anger etched to her voice,

"Listen Flack, it's not your fault - and you should know that. Angell is making her own decisions and after all, considering what you told me it was probably for the best to end it. Furthermore you couldn't know what would happen..."

She of course knew about his relationship with Angell, though she hadn't found out until it had already been over...

_Flashback, about two and a half months earlier :_

Entering the apartment of the most recent victim and walking up to Flack Stella couldn't stifle a yawn. It was only like five in the morning and she was still damn tired, considering that she hadn't slept too well. And one look at Flack was enough to tell that he hadn't either.

He had a thoughtful frown on his face and it seemed like he was miles away with his mind. There were dark circles under his eyes, making it that much more obvious that he had probably barely slept - if he had slept at all, that was.

As she stopped next to him Stella remained quiet for another moment, before she asked,

"Everything okay with ya?"

"Nope..." He hesitated for a moment then he added, noticing her questioning facial expression,

"Just broke up with my girlfriend and lost a good friend in the process..."

Stella couldn't help but giving him a surprised look as she heard that. She hadn't even known that he had been seeing someone, but then again, it was probably not really her business in the first place.

Eventually she broke the silence once more and offered,

"You know...In case you wanna talk..." She trailed off.

"Yeah, I know...Thanks Stell..." Flack replied and for a moment a small smile appeared on his face, before he became serious again and started to fill her in on the case.

_End flashback_

After the case had been closed they had talked, or well, he had told her about Angell and him, had told her why he had called it off. Well, it hadn't exactly been one of those nasty break-ups that often enough followed when dating someone so close, even though Angell had avoided him for several days after their break-up it didn't seem like there was any hostility between them.

And considering that she was aware of the fact that Flack still cared a lot for Angell she could most definitely understand why he was this worried about her at the moment...

"You know, I just don't get why she's doing this to herself...I mean, if she loved him I would at least slightly understand why she stays and even defends this scumbag - but she doesn't love him...So, why does she stick around, letting him treat her like garbage?"

Stella sighed, she knew that Flack was hoping for an explanation, but she had none so she simply stated,

"I don't know..." She trailed off, being aware of the fact that this wasn't the answer he had hoped for.

Before Stella was able to continue Flack's cell phone started ringing.

He hurried to answer the call and listened intently for a moment then he said,

"I'm on my way." After hanging up he sighed and looked at Stella, telling her,

"Well, I gotta go...I'll see you later."

Stella nodded and they shared a smile before Flack left.

* * *

As Mac told her about the results of the autopsy and some tests they had run with the evidence so far, Angell tried hard to focus on what he was saying and forget her anger. However, it wasn't as easy as she wished it was...

For Christ's sake, who gave Flack the right to interfere with her life? First he dumped her from one moment to the next without even the least of an explanation and now he wanted to make decisions for her? Damnit, it wasn't his goddamn business what she was doing!

A sigh escaped her mouth as she wondered what to do to keep Flack from telling anyone about his discovery, after all, she had more important stuff to do than worrying about how to keep her private life private...

"Everything okay?" Mac asked, giving her a concerned look.

"Yeah, why?"

Mac smiled for a moment then he pointed out,

"Well, you seemed miles away with your thoughts..."

"Sorry..." She mumbled, knowing that she should've paid more attention to what he had been telling her,

"What were you saying?"

For a few seconds Mac eyed her suspiciously, a frown on his face, but then his smile returned and he started repeating what he had told her.

_About half an hour later :_

Taking a sip of coffee Angell closed her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to focus on the current case and push the thought of Flack knowing her little secret aside. Well, if she was honest with herself she had to admit that saying it was a "little secret" was wrong, considering all the lies she was telling people that cared about her...

Looking up another sigh escaped her mouth as she saw Stella entering the break-room. As she watched how the CSI got herself a cup of coffee and walked up to her she couldn't shake the feeling that whatever the CSI wanted she didn't really wanna hear it.

"I was already looking for ya..." Stella stated.

"Really...Why's that?" Angell gave her a look, that ranged somewhere between anger and distaste, though she had a quite good idea of what the matter was and that knowledge made her anger rise again.

"Well, I wanted to talk with you about Chuck..."

Hearing that and seeing her suspicions confirmed Angell glared at Stella, before stating, forcing herself not to yell,

"Flack had no goddamn right to tell you any of this just 'cause you're sleeping together!"

* * *

For a few seconds Stella just looked angrily at Angell. It wasn't exactly what she had said that made her angry, it was more the way she had said it. Eventually she shook slightly her head, she had known that Angell won't be happy to hear that Flack had told her and that it had probably been a stupid idea to confront her about it, but now it was too late to change her mind anyways.

As she replied Stella couldn't help but wonder how Angell knew that she and Flack were dating, considering that Flack had insisted on keeping their relationship quiet.

"Just to make one thing clear - he didn't tell me because we're seeing each other..." Stella pointed calmly out, ignoring her anger,

"I mean, come on Angell, you know that Flack did only tell me because he's worried about you."

"So what?" Angell gave her a challenging glance, her hands clenched so hard into fists that her knuckles became white.

"Look, I can understand why you're angry, but Flack just wants to help ya..."

"I don't give a damn 'bout that! It's none of his business - nor is it yours! And just for the record - I don't need _**anybody's **_help!" Angell interrupted her.

"Do you really wanna take the risk to end up at the morgue?" Stella gave her a questioning look,

"Cause that's what will happen in the end if you stay with Chuck."

"And if so - how would that be _**any**_ of _**your**_ business?"

Stella couldn't help but sigh, realizing that Angell was simply not willing to listen.

"It is my problem because I care about you. I don't wanna have to prove that Chuck killed you - and I'm sure neither does Mac."

* * *

At that Angell became even more furious, somehow not liking the least the expression on Stella's face nor the tone of her voice as she mentioned Mac.

"Let me make one thing very clear - if I find out that either you or Flack told anybody else about this I'll make you wish you never met me, got that?" She waited a few seconds for Stella's reaction, then she added,

"I really hope that was clear enough, 'cause you can be sure that I'm not one to forgive easily - and now excuse me, I got work to do..." With that she emptied her cup and left, feeling like she could really use some fresh air to calm down a bit.

One thing was absolutely for sure - Flack was gonna be very lucky if he didn't cross her path in the next few hours. How could he dare to run to Stella and tell her about what Chuck was doing? But well, it wasn't likely that he would even think about showing up anywhere near her for a while, considering that Stella would probably tell him about their conversation and advise him to avoid her for some time.

And luckily they were now working on seperate cases and therefore the chances to run into either of them again in the next few hours were quite low - and there was absolutely no reason for talking with them.

As she stepped out of the building she took some deep breaths and tried to relax a bit, after all, there was a case that needed her full attention - she couldn't keep thinking about her personal troubles...

_Tbc_


	3. Wake up Call

_**A/N:**__ Once again only some minor changes._

* * *

**Fix my Broken Wings**

_3. Wake up call_

It had already been two weeks since Flack and Stella had found out about her secret and Angell simply couldn't help but still being upset by that fact, considering that each time one of them was around her she could tell that they were observing her every move.

Sure, Angell knew that they were worried about her, she knew they were right and all, but that didn't change a thing about the fact that they were annoying her like crazy. But unfortunately there was no way of really avoiding them.

Realizing that she had finally arrived at the beach where the body had been found Angell turned off the engine of her car and took a deep breath. While walking over to Mac and Lindsay, who were already waiting for her, she decided to push her thoughts away and try to focus on work.

"Sorry, I was stuck in traffic..." Angell apologized as she had reached them, but trailed off as her eyes caught sight of the victim.

There was a gunshot-wound in her chest, the body was bloated by being in the water for a yet unknown time, furthermore it seemed to be covered in bruises, but the late state of decomposition was making it hard to tell. However, what really caught Angell's attention was the woman's face, it looked familiar to her, though she couldn't quite pinpoint where she had seen her before.

"Hey, you're okay, Angell?" Mac asked when he noticed how pale and lost in tought she was.

"Yeah...It's just the body..." Angell said, forcing herself to put on a smile,

"For how long do you think she was in the water?"

"At least two or three weeks..."

"I'll go and check if there are any missing persons that fit her discription, maybe that will help us to get an ID on her..." Angell stated after a moment of thinking.

"Okay, see you later..." Hearing that Angell turned to leave and headed back to her car.

_At the precinct, a half hour later :_

After she had stopped at a Starbucks to get some coffee and something for breakfast Angell let out a sigh as she entered the precinct and headed to her desk.

Turning her PC on she took a sip of coffee, once more wondering where she had seen the victim before. But eventually she came to the conclusion that it was pointless, considering the fact that she saw so many people every day...

"Hey..." She heard Flack's voice and looking up she saw him standing next to her.

"Flack..." Angell stated, annoyance etched to her voice,

"What's the matter?"

"Nothin'...I just wanted to know how you're doing..." Flack replied, causing Angell to glare at him.

"How many times do I have to repeat it? - I'm fine!" She hissed and focused her attention back on the computer screen.

Flack sighed then he turned around and went to his own desk. Taking another sip of coffee Angell started looking through missing person files, hoping that she might be able to identify their victim, find her relatives - a way to figure out who would have a motive to do this.

_Some time later :_

Angell wasn't quite sure how much time had passed when the ringing of her cell phone interrupted her thoughts.

Taking a quick glance at the display a satisfied smile appeared on her face and she hurried to answer the call.

"Mac... What's up?"

_"Can you come to the lab?"_ He wanted to know.

"Sure...I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Angell replied almost immediately, being grateful for having a reason to get out of the squadroom, even though she wondered what the matter could be.

After hanging up she quickly shut her PC down and went to leave. As she passed Flack's desk on her way out their eyes met for a moment and Angell couldn't help but sigh as she noticed the thoughtful frown on his face. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was something about the expression in his eyes that made her angry rise again.

Another sigh escaped her mouth as she stepped out of the building and went to her car. For Christ's sake she should really stop thinking this much about personal stuff and focus on her work. Plus Mac was waiting for her at the lab and therefore she shouldn't waste her time with any of this.

_At the lab :_

Stepping out of the elevator Angell took a quick look around, before deciding that she would probably find Mac in his office.

As she had reached the door Angell couldn't help but frown as she saw Mac sitting at his desk, totally lost in the file he was reading.

For a moment she just kept standing in the door-way, simply observing him. Eventually she knocked against the open door and walked further into the room.

"So, why did you want me to come by?" Angell asked, causing Mac to look up and smile.

"Well, I got the autopsy report on our vic..." Mac said, and got up.

"You already managed to identify her?" Angell wanted to know as he handed her the autopsy report.

"Not yet...However, what we know is that she seems to have been a victim of domestic violence. She had numerous older wounds, some of her ribs show signs of being broken a couple of times and so does her jaw, right arm and her wrists. There were also quite a few scars..."

At that point Angell lost track of what Mac was telling her, her mind simply choosing to stop listening. Instead she focused her attention on the autopsy report, though she soon realized that reading the file had the same effect on her as listening to Mac - it made her feel sick, made her heart beat faster, caused her breathing to become laboured...

"Hey, I just identified our vic..." Lindsay's voice brought her back to reality and Angell turned to look at the CSI,

"Her name's Caitlin Sullivan..." Hearing that Angell swallowed hard, suddenly realizing where she had seen that woman before.

_Flashback, eight weeks earlier :_

_Angell had just sat down at one of the tables of the diner where she tended to have lunch when a woman stopped in front of her._

_"Detective Angell?" The woman said, causing her to look up._

_"Yeah...How did you know I was here?" Angell wanted to know, eyeing the woman suspiciously._

_"One of your colleagues told me that you might be here..." The woman said, then she added,_

_"My name's Caitlin Sullivan...I need to talk with you." Caitlin indicated the chair opposite of her and, after seeing Angell nod reluctantly, sat down._

_"About what do you wanna talk with me?" Angell asked._

_"About Chuck Davis..."_

_Angell raised an eye-brow then she said :_

_"I don't see a reason to talk with you about him."_

_Caitlin nodded, apparently understanding her point._

_"Then just listen to what I got to say..." She replied._

_Seeing the expression on the woman's face Angell sighed and mumbled :_

_"Fine..." _

_Caitlin took a deep breath then she started :_

_"Well, I know this might sound strange but you should leave him."_

_"You're right, that sounds extremely strange." Angell pointed out,_

_"Why should I do that?"_

_"Because he isn't who he pretends to be. He isn't that nice, perfect guy he wants everybody to see in him..."_

_"Oh, really? How do you wanna know that?" Angell inquired, her voice a little harsher than she had intended._

_"I know, because I used to be his girlfriend until six months ago - and he made me go through hell."_

_Hearing that Angell shook slightly her head no and told Caitlin :_

_"I think this conversation's over...And just to make one thing very clear - don't even think about trying to talk with me again, if I see you around me or in case you try to call me I'll get a restrain order if necessary." With that she got up and headed to the doors._

_Caitlin didn't say anything nor did she try to keep her from leaving._

_End flashback_

She hadn't heard from Caitlin again and now she also knew why, though Angell doubted that she would have tried to talk with her again after she had been so rude to her.

Glancing eventually back at Mac and Lindsay she saw the concerned expressions on their faces. Angell let out a soft sigh then she wanted to know :

"Were you able to find any traces of the killer?"

"Nope, the body has been in the water for too long and that along with the state of decomposition..." Lindsay replied.

Hearing that Angell sighed once more. Of course there were no traces - he was way too smart to leave evidence behind.

"How about the murder-weapon - you know what sort of gun the killer used?"

"Unfortunately not...Whoever did this has certainly done his homework and removed the bullet altering the wound in the process - we can't even tell for sure what caliber it was."

Angell nodded then she asked :

"Anything else?"

"Not yet..."

"What about her family?"

"We're still trying to locate them." Lindsay said, while Mac was quietly watching her.

"Well, I should get back to the precinct - call me when you find something new..."

_Back at the precinct, an hour later :_

Angell wasn't sure for how long she had been lost in thought when someone sat down on the edge of her desk, causing her almost to jump.

Looking up she couldn't help but glare at the person.

"Hey, what's the matter? You've been staring blankly ahead now ever since you returned from the lab..." Flack stated, giving her a look that was ranging somwhere between concern and curiosity, with a slight trace of sadness or regret.

"So what? Am I now not even allowed to think anymore?" Angell retorted angry, causing Flack to sigh and get up to return to his desk.

The moment Flack had sat back down Angell relaxed a bit, even though she could tell that he was watching her once more like a hawk. It didn't take long for her mind to begin to drift off again, back to the problem she was facing now that Caitlin was dead.

Like already four times before she picked up her cell phone and hit speed-dial. However, after staring for a moment at the name and number on the display she closed it again and put it back down on her desk. She just couldn't make up her mind concerning whether she should tell Mac what she knew or if she should simply remain silent.

Well, in the back of her mind she knew that she had to tell him. Not telling him would be withholding information in a homocide-case and therefore obstruction of law. But each time that she decided to call Mac another part of her reminded her of the fact that telling him what she knew would also mean telling him about her secret - and that fact was the reason why she always decided against calling him in the end.

And after all, what would be the point of telling anyone in the first place? She didn't have any proof, so how would it be a big deal if she didn't tell him?

After another moment of thinking she took a look at her watch and decided to already call it a day, even though it was just afternoon, considering that she had certain things to do and that she could return later in case that Mac and Lindsay found something...

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Hope you like this so far..._


	4. Enough is enough

_**Warnings:**__ Major warnings for violence and the mentioning of attempted rape in this chapter!_

_**A/N:**__ Considering that I wrote this originally in the middle of the night I mainly corrected some spelling and grammar errors in this chapter, but I also made a few minor changes throughout the chapter and basically rewrote the ending completely._

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_4. Enough is enough_

Turning off the engine of her car Angell glanced around, noticing that Chuck's car was nowhere in sight she took a deep breath and stepped onto the street. Well, of course his car wasn't there, after all, he was currently working. If he won't be working at the moment she won't be there right now.

Opening the trunk of her car she grabbed the travel-bag and headed to the door after locking the car.

When she unlocked the front-door of his apartment she took another deep, calming breath, reminding herself that Chuck wasn't there. After closing the door behind her she headed directly to the bedroom.

As she opened the drawer of the nightstand and took the small box in which she kept some of her jewellery and dropped the item in the travel-bag, that was now lying opened on the bed, she forced herself to focus on what she was doing, knowing that this wasn't the right time to think her decision through.

She could think about everything when she was done and outside the apartment. Turning around she went to the closet and grabbed her clothes from one of the shelves, throwing them carelessly into the bag as well.

Eventually she took a quick look around checking if there was anything else in the room worth taking with her, then she grabbed the bag and left the bedroom.

On her way out of the apartment she stopped for a moment in the living-room, grabbing the novel she had been reading from the coffee-table. When she had reached the door she stopped once more and put the key for the apartment along with the necklace Chuck had given her short after they had started dating and a small note onto the small-table standing next to the door.

Stepping out of the building she sighed relieved, already feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Getting into her car she threw the travel-bag on the passenger-seat and turned the engine on.

_At Angell's apartment, a half hour later :_

After closing the door behind her a soft smile appeared on her lips as she dropped the bag onto the floor. For a few seconds she simply kept standing where she was and went mentally through her list of things to do.

A moment later she grabbed her cell phone and dialed the number of the landlord. When her call was answered she stated :

"This is Jessica Angell, I'm calling because I need the lock of my door to be replaced right away." She listened for a few seconds, then she added,

"Yeah, I know that, however, it can't wait." She listened for another moment,

"Thanks."

She was aware of the fact that changing the lock would probably not keep Chuck from trying to get inside her apartment, but at least he won't get in without her noticing.

While having to wait Angell went to the kitchen and made herself some tea to distract herself from thinking too much.

_Forty minutes later :_

Releasing a relieved sigh Angell closed the door and smiled, before removing her old keys from her key-ring and replacing them with the new ones.

It had somehow surprised her that it hadn't taken longer to change the lock, though she certainly won't complain about it.

Sitting down on the couch Angell turned on the TV. One thing was for sure, she had no intention to tell Flack about this, after all, she hadn't made this decision because of him or Stella. No, she had done it for herself and she was determined to keep this from Flack - at least for some time - not wanting to hear his opinion about it, and she knew that he would make some sort of comment if he found out right away.

Realizing how hungry she was she picked up the phone, deciding to simply order some Chinese from her favorite restaurant instead of cooking something by herself...

_Meanwhile :_

Closing the front-door behind him and dropping his keys carelessly onto the small-table to his right a sigh escaped his mouth. Today had been...surprising - yeah, that was certainly the best way to put it.

After taking off his jacket and putting it into the closet opposite the door he paused for a moment and took the time to study his reflection in the mirror in front of him.

Most people would describe him as extremely handsome - and in fact they actually did. His brown hair was currently slightly curly, a fact that reminded him each morning that he had to get it finally cut, even though most women he came across liked it actually the way it was right now - not that this fact mattered at all to him.

A few seconds later he stared into his piercing, light-brown eyes, right now his gaze was cold and hard. However, if necessary he could make his eyes look full of warmth, softness and understanding - lulling people into a false sense of safety, seducing them to trust him, to give him whatever he wanted. At other times they became even harder, showing the real him, the man that was determined to get his way in any aspect of his life and won't take no for an answer.

He knew that whoever had come to the conclusion that the eyes were the window to someone's soul had been right, came to the same conclusion when he looked into his own eyes. When he had been younger he hadn't paid attention to that, however, with the passing of time he had learned that he could get what he wanted easier if he kept his eyes guarded, if he pretended to be someone - something - else than the real him.

Eventually he let his gaze wander down, examining the well-defined muscles of his arms and torso beneath his t-shirt, though he paid attention not to look overly-trained. His skin was still slightly tanned from the summer - and his Latin-American origin was preventing him from losing all of that tan during the winter.

A moment later another sigh escaped him as he headed into the direction of his bedroom to take a shower and change clothes. On his way he started reminiscing about the events of the day...

_'So, Caitlin has eventually turned up again.' _He thought as he pulled off his t-shirt. Well, it wasn't really that much of a surprise, after all, he had known that her body would be found one day. What surprised him more was the fact how fast she had been found, somehow he had thought it would take longer than twenty-six days.

He knew from experience that most people that had killed someone paniced as soon as they heard that the body had been found - and that led often enough to their arrest, because panicing causes you to become sloppy. In most cases those killers decided to get rid of any possible evidence that could lead to them, if they had kept it, or trophies from their crime. They also tended to close their bank-accounts and skip town.

Both of these things were mistakes he would never make, especially considering that in case that they would find the link between him and Caitlin it would make him look suspicious if he changed his routine all of a sudden - plus there was no need to panic, after all, even if they found the link between them there was no evidence that would lead them to the conclusion that he had anything to do with her death.

Opening the closet he frowned for a moment, being unable to shake the feeling that something was missing. A moment later his eyes narrowed and his hands clenched into fists as he realized what was missing.

Grabbing a fresh t-shirt out of the closet and putting it on he left the bedroom and headed back to the front-door.

Reaching for his keys his facial expression even darkened as he noticed the items lying on the table. After taking the note and reading it quickly he crumpled it in his left hand and opened the door.

Slamming it forcibly shut behind him he tried to calm his racing mind a bit down. But it didn't work, he was simply way too furious to think straight.

_Back at Angell's apartment :_

Hearing a knock at her door Angell turned the volume of the TV down and checked her watch, before getting up. On her way to the door she grabbed her wallet to pay the Chinese.

Opening the door she froze as she realized who was standing in front of her.

"Surprised to see me, Jess?" Chuck asked, smiling at her, lifting his left hand he added,

"I hope you don't mind that I got that for ya..." He stretched his hand out and waited for her to take the Chinese from him.

After a moment of hesitation she took it and put it along with her wallet down on a small-table next to the door. When he didn't make a move to turn around and leave Angell gave him a look.

"What do you want? In case you didn't find the note I left for you - it's over..." She spoke eventually up, starting to get impatient.

"That's actually exactly why I'm here. I think we should talk about this..." He replied, looking at her as if he couldn't hurt a fly.

"There's nothing left to talk about - I'm through with this, with you." With that she attempted to close the door.

Chuck simply chuckled and pressed his right hand against the door, making it impossible for Angell to close it.

"You're through with me, huh?" He said grinning at her.

Angell looked calmly right back into his eyes and told him :

"Yeah, and now take your hand away from the door."

"I don't think so..." He hissed, pushing the door effortlessly wide open, entering her aprtment and shutting the door behind him he continued,

"In case you didn't realize - this isn't up to you...It's my decision if and when this is over."

"Get out of my apartment." Angell stated, glaring at him.

"Or what, Jess, huh? You wanna call the cops - your little lab-rats?" Chuck yelled and slapped her into the face.

Angell started retreating into the living-room, ignoring the pain in her left cheek.

"Newsflash, Jess, they can't help you, they won't believe you - even if you could call someone. However, you see this little item here?" Following her he reached with his left hand into the pocket of his jeans and showed her a small device,

"This little thing jams all sorts of radio waves as well as cell phones and wireless phones - like the one you use. It's quite handy if you're about to arrest someone and want to keep that person from warning his partners..." He paused and grinned,

"Nobody will help you...So, why don't we sit down and talk, huh, Jess?"

"Is that how you lulled Caitlin into meeting you?"

Chuck smirked at her.

"So, you heard about it as well...Poor thing, is it true that she has been beaten brutally before she had been killed and dumped into the water?"

"As if you didn't know exactly what happened with her...You didn't answer my question - how did you get her to meet you?" She gave him a look.

"I don't like what you're implying here, sweetie..." With that he closed the space between them and grabbed her right wrist, pulling her closer.

"First of all I'm not your _**sweetie**_, Chuck!"

"Oh really?" He interrupted,

"I thought I already mentioned that it's not up to you whether this is over or not!" While speaking he got a hold of her chin with his free hand and drew her face closer in an attempt to kiss her.

However, before he could succeed she spit him into the face. Letting go off her chin he wiped his right hand over his face and pushed her forcibly against the wall.

As she bumped into the wall Angell winced in pain. Turning to look at him she pointed out :

"Face it Chuck, we are over and beside that - we both know you killed Caitlin and that you're not gonna get away this time..."

"You got proof for that?" He paused for a moment, walking up to her, giving her a questioning glance, when she remained silent he smirked and continued,

"Well, that's what I thought...You know, you should better be careful with accusations like that!" With that he slapped her again, this time however even much harder, causing her head to turn and hit the wall with her left cheek.

As Chuck pressed her against the wall and bent down to kiss her Angell turned her head away and demanded :

"Let go of me."

"I don't even think about it, Jess..." Chuck retorted and forced her to look at him,

"Like it or not - you're mine!" With that he kissed her, causing Angell to close her eyes for a moment and try to free herself from his grip.

A moment later Chuck removed his hand from her chin and let his fingertips brush over her cheek.

"Get the hell out of my apartment!"

Instead of doing as he had been told he let his hands wander over her body. Before she even realized what she was doing she kicked him into the groin, causing him to make a few steps back.

Stepping closer again he yelled :

"That hurt, you little bitch!"

"I told..." Angell started, but went silent when Chuck hit her again. Seeing how angry Chuck was by now she reached instinctively for her gun, realizing that it wasn't there she looked at the coffee-table where she had put it after she had gotten home.

Following her gaze an evil smile appeared on Chuck's face.

"Why don't you just relax, Jess? Huh?" As he continued his smile turned into a dirty grin,

"After all, unlike that dumb-ass Flack I at least know how to fuck a woman!"

"I'd rather die than being touched by you ever again." Angell stated, glaring angrily at him.

"Well, that can be arranged..." Chuck pointed out, grabbed her shoulders and pushed her face-down onto the carpet.

Just as she wanted to get up he kicked her forcibly into her left side, flipping her slightly over so that she was now lying on her right side, facing him. The kick caused Angell to bite her lip trying to keep herself from screaming out in pain. Before the pain could even subside he kicked her again, this time into the stomach, the blow enough to make her gasp for air.

As his foot was burying in her abdomen again she wondered once more why she had put her gun on the coffee-table instead of keeping it in its holster, or why she hadn't hurried to get it when Chuck had forced his way into her apartment.

She tried to get up but in the matter of seconds she sank back down as he kicked her another time. Angell winced in pain and curled up, placing her arms in front of her chest. Only a moment later she screamed as his shoe connected with her right forearm. By reflex she pulled her arms away, what she regretted immediately as he kicked her twice into her ribs.

Another kick into her stomach flipped her on her back. A moment later Chuck crouched down next to her, a smile on his face, his eyes now soft again - though she of course knew it was just an act.

"How about a change of mind?" He asked, lifting his right hand and brushing his fingertips over her cheek.

"Not gonna happen." Angell forced herself to speak.

Hearing that Chuck's facial expression changed in the matter of a split-second into a furious grimace. He pulled his hand back and clenched it into a fist, then he punched her into the face.

As she tried once more to get up he pushed her shoulders forcibly back down and sat down on her upper thighs.

When Chuck bent down to kiss her she started hitting his chest with her fists. Chuck, however, didn't even flinch, instead he grabbed her wrists with his left hand, he lifted her hands over her head and pressed them down onto the floor.

"I thought I had made clear by now that I'm gonna get what I want - and that your opinion doesn't matter at all!"

A moment later he began to trail kisses down her throat, while reaching with his right hand for the rim of her top and pushing it up, uncovering most of her stomach.

For a short time he simply let his fingers wander over the now free skin then he moved his hand to the button of her jeans. It didn't take long before he had undone the button along with the zipper.

As Angell struggled to free her hands from his grip tears started forming in her eyes, causing his grin to widen as he leaned down, planting a kiss onto her lips.

"Let me go!" Angell shouted, trying to keep her tears from falling.

Then he rose onto his knees and began to pull her jeans down. After a moment he let really go off her wirsts, though only to have both hands free.

The moment she could move her hands Angell began hitting him again. However, only a moment later he had removed her jeans, causing her to struggle even harder.

As he reached for the rim of her panties the tears broke eventually free.

"No! Don't...Please, stop...Let me go..." She pleaded, desperately trying to make him stop,

"Chuck, stop...Please, don't..."

Forcing herself to ignore her rising panic she let her eyes wander, frantically searching for a way to make Chuck stop, before her sight stopped on her now free legs and before she had even fully realized what she was doing she rammedher right knee a second time into Chuck's groin.

He let out a pained sound, drawing in a sharp breath, then he hissed :

"Big mistake!"

With that he began hitting her again, each of his punches being more forcibly than the ones before. After a while he grabbed her hair pulling her head up and slamming it back down - once, twice, then a third time...

However, some time later he returned to punching her - into the face, the stomach...

Looking into his face she realized that he had no intention on stopping any time soon. It didn't take long before her surroundings started to become blurry, partly because of the tears that were still streaming over her face, but she suspected that the main cause was the growing pain in her skull.

Suddenly he stopped hitting her, for a moment she felt relieved and dared hoping that his anger had subsided and that he would simply leave now. However, a few seconds later the relief was replaced by sheer panic as she felt his hands close around her throat.

As he increased the pressure of his hands she tried frantically to stop him, tried to pull his hands from her throat, she scratched his arms and wrists, she even tried to reach for his gun. But eventually her efforts became weaker and weaker as her lungs were beginning to hurt, screaming for oxygen.

Though it didn't take long before that pain started to fade away as well as everything else, soon there was nothing left of her surroundings - no odors, no sounds, no images. Her mind, though already slowing down, was still functioning.

Surprisingly the first thing that came to her mind was Caitlin. She wished she had been nicer that day, felt sorry for her, after all, now nobody would find out what had happened to her, who had killed her and Chuck would get away with killing her. She also felt guilty for Caitlin's death, for she had made the mistake to mention their conversation around Chuck - she wasn't even sure why she had done so...

She couldn't help wondering how the odds were that Mac and his team would find out what had happened with her, knowing that Chuck would probably dump her just like Caitlin, wondered if they would be able to find enough proof against Chuck to put him behind bars for the rest of his life - she hoped so, at least then her death won't be just another pointless murder, another meaningless tragedy. But if somebody was capable of doing that it was them, none of them would be willing to give up until they had found a way to put the guy who had killed her away!

Soon her mind drifted off to her dad, she knew this would break him - it would probably kill him, and if it didn't it would change him for the rest of his life. Hopefully her brothers would be able to make it easier for him. Her brothers...Sure, it hadn't been always easy to be not only the youngest child but also the only girl, but when it had mattered they had always been there for her. They had always made sure that nobody would hurt her, and she could only hope that they knew how grateful she was for that - no matter how much she had always complained about them being so overprotective...

Eventually she thought about the fact that she should have listened to Flack instead of being too goddamn proud to accept his and Stella's help. Now it was too late and that realization pained her, though it wasn't paining her for herself - it was because of Flack. She knew he would feel like it was his fault, like he had failed her - she could only hope that Stella made him realize that he wasn't responsible for her death, that Stella would be able to help him move on. After all, she could tell that the CSI cared a lot about Flack - if she wasn't actually in love with him - she won't let Flack fall apart because of this.

Flack...It was probably the thought of him that kept that small part of her, which was still fighting, from giving up, the fact that there were so many things that would remain unsaid if she died now, questions that would remain unanswered - like why he had called it off all of a sudden. She wasn't sure why she hadn't asked him while she had had the chance, or why she hadn't fought for their relationship for that matter. After all, she had loved him, still loved him...But instead of holding at least on to their friendship she had avoided him, especially since he had found about what Chuck was doing to her...

However, all too soon the image of him began fading as well and then it was gone.

One last, lonely tear slipped from the cornor of her right eye, rolling silently down the side of her face. And then there was nothing...

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ First of all, I really hope you liked it so far! Furthermore I think I will wait with posting the next few chapters for a while. In the meantime, please do me a favor and REVIEW!_


	5. Memories

_**A/N:**__ Thanks for the reviews! Well, here's the next chapter, this time I only made some minor changes..._

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_5. Memories_

As Angell started regaining consciousness she had no idea how much time had passed, and if she was honest she didn't really care either. For a while she simply stayed where she was, wondering why she was still alive, but in the end she came to the conclusion that the reason didn't really matter - what mattered was that she wasn't dead.

When she eventually attempted to get up she felt like every single fiber, every cell of her body was exploding in pain and sank back down. However, a few seconds later she forced herself to try again.

The moment she was standing she started feeling dizzy. Stretching her arms out in front of her and starting to walk slowly, her fingers soon brushed against the wall and she leaned with her back against it, trying to take some deep, steadying breaths.

Her throat and lungs burnt, but she ignored the pain - she needed to breathe, needed more oxygen, needed to get rid of this damn dizziness. After a short while she realized to her great relief that it was slowly getting easier to breathe and that the fog in her head was starting to clear.

Furthermore she was getting more and more used to the darkness surrounding her and after taking a look around she started walking again.

Entering her bedroom she turned on the light before continuing on her way to the bathroom. She was barely aware of her actions, feeling as if she was running on autopilot, as if she was only watching herself doing these things.

It wasn't until she felt the almost steaming-hot water running over her skin that she snapped out of that severe state of detachment. In the back of her mind she knew that she shouldn't take a shower right now, knew that she was currently destroying evidence - but at the moment she couldn't care less. So she simply stayed where she was, enjoying the warmth of the water.

When she returned to the bedroom and went to get some fresh clothes out of her closet she stopped in front of the full-length mirror, which was standing next to the closet. For a moment she simply stared at her reflection. Taking a closer look at the woman staring back at her, her eyes welled up with tears.

It didn't take long before the tears broke free, considering that she was way too damn tired to keep them from falling.

How could she have let this happen to herself? For Christ's sake she had known about Chuck's reputation, had known from the beginning what she was getting herself into. When Caitlin had told her to leave him she hadn't left the diner because she was incapable of believing what she heard. She had left the diner because she hadn't wanted to think too deeply about what she had gotten herself into.

She wasn't quite sure why she had gotten involved with Chuck in the first place and even less why she had stayed when he had beaten her the first time, though it had certainly not been because she had feelings for him - after all, her heart already belonged to Flack, would always belong to him even if those feelings were obviously not mutual. Probably the reason didn't even matter to begin with.

And now it was too late anways - sure she had told Chuck that it was over, but he won't let her go, she knew that. The moment Chuck realized that she was still alive he would be right back to put her through hell all over again and he won't stop 'til he had destroyed her completely.

She was so goddamn tired of all of this! She was tired of all the lies she kept telling those caring the most about her, was tired of pushing her friends away to keep all of it a secret. Was tired of pretending that she was okay, of faking a smile wherever she was going, whatever she was doing - of having to cover the bruises. She was so tired of the pain, of being beaten and kicked around.

Taking another careful look at her reflection she realized that she didn't even recognize herself anymore.

What the hell had happened to her? She used to be so independent, used to be tough-as-nails - now she was nothing but a mere imitation of the woman she had once been. Her once bright, dark-brown eyes were now dim, having lost their sparkle. Her smile was weak, if she bothered to fake one that was. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, though that wasn't really a big deal - after all, she had to put on make-up anways, right?

She had lost her courage, her strength, her faith - she had lost herself, damnit, she could hardly even remember who she used to be before her relationship with Chuck. Every day she prayed to be redeemed from all this pain she had caused herself, prayed that Chuck would just disappear from her life and never show up again.

Realizing that she was shivering by now she finally tore her eyes away from the mirror and opened her closet to get eventually dressed. After putting on some underwear she took a red camisole from the top-shelf and pulled it over her head. As she grabbed a pair of blue jeans from another shelf she saw a folded piece of paper fall to the floor.

Still feeling like she was freezing she hurried to put on the jeans, before crouching down and picking up the piece of paper. Unfolding it she realized that it was a photograph that had been taken at her birthday about four months ago. Looking at the picture for a little longer tears formed once more in her eyes as she remembered how happy she had been back then.

Back then she had been enjoying her life, she had been strong and vivid - and most of all she hadn't been lonely like she was now...

When the first few tears rolled down her cheeks she realized just how much she wished she could turn back time and change what she had done...Wished she had enough strength to hold on to herself.

After taking another look at the photograph in her hands she folded it again and put it into the hip-pocket of her jeans, knowing that it was a good reminder of why she had to keep on trying to get her life back - to keep reminding herself that somewhere deep inside of her she was still that woman from the photograph...

A moment later she wiped away the remains of her tears and took a deep breath. She wanted nothing more than being herself again, wanted to be who she used to be before getting involved with Chuck.

But she was stuck in this mess, in this place of pain and darkness, and she couldn't help doubting that she would be able to break free. After all, she knew that Chuck won't stop until he had either made her give herself up completely - or had killed her. And there was just so much more she would be able to take before he would succeed, considering that she hadn't much strength left.

She knew that the human mind and body could only be pushed to a certain extent before both of it broke entirely and the events of earlier had made her realize that she was already much closer to that limit than she had thought.

She had to finally start fighting back, had to find a way out of this - and that as soon as possible.

However, she also knew that she won't manage this on her own - she needed help...

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Thanks for reading! _


	6. Help Me

_**Warnings:**__ Basically same warnings as in chapter four..._

_**A/N:**__ This chapter contains once again some bigger changes, especially at the end..._

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_6. Help Me_

Mac couldn't help being upset by the case. Normally he would be still at the lab and try to solve it, but they had nothing to work with, there was no more evidence that needed to be examined, no leads that needed to be followed...

The bitter truth was they had nothing - no witnesses, no traces, no suspects.

_"Mac? You're still there?" _He heard Stella's voice on the other end of the line, interrupting his train of thought.

"I was just thinking..."

_"About the case you're working on?" _Stella inquired.

She most definitely knew him too well. But he was glad that she had called, because of a possible link between her current case and a case he had worked on a few months earlier, being glad for the distraction.

"Yeah..." He trailed off, thinking he had heard something, but after a moment he dismissed it as a result of his imagination and went on,

"I was really thinking about the case."

Just as he had finished his sentence there was the sound again, this time slightly louder and he realized that someone was knocking on his door. At that realization he took a quick look at his watch and frowned as he noticed that it was already short after eleven.

_"Are you sure that everything's okay?" _

"Yeah...Why are you asking?" Mac inquired in response as he got up and headed to the door.

_"You keep getting lost in your thoughts - and that's not exactly like you..." _Stella pointed out,

_"I'm sure that you could really use some time away from work again."_

"I'll keep that in mind." He stated and chuckled, then he added,

"Well, I gotta check who's at my door..."

_"Seriously? It's already like 11:15." _

Opening the door and seeing who it was he said hurriedly,

"We gotta continue this talk tomorrow." And with that he hung up, then he stated surprised,

"Jess, what..." He trailed off as he took a closer look at her. Her eyes were glistening with tears, which was already enough to make him worry, that worry even grew when he realized that her entire body was shaking.

"I...I'm in trouble, Mac...Big trouble..." Angell stated, a tear rolling down her cheek, only a split-second after she had trailed off she collapsed.

Mac hurried to get a hold of her before she could hit the floor. A moment later he lifted her up on his arms and turned to carry her inside his apartment.

Lying her down on the couch he took carefully her jacket off to check her pulse. As he put the jacket down onto the arm-rest and took a closer look at her he couldn't help but gasp in shock when he noticed the bruises on her arms. Some of them were already fading, others were just forming.

Reminding himself of the reason why he had taken off her jacket he checked carefully her pulse, being slightly relieved when it turned out to be normal, her breathing, however, was laboured.

Heading to the kitchen to get a glass of water for Angell, he forced himself not to think too deeply about the entire situation. Though that was by far easier said than done. After all, it hadn't passed him by unnoticed that something was bothering her in the last time, however, he hadn't expected it to turn out to be something this serious.

Returning to the living-room a relieved sigh escaped his mouth as he saw Angell sitting up. After handing her the glass and taking a seat next to her on the couch Mac gave her a concerned glance and asked,

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, I guess..." Angell replied quietly, avoiding to look directly at him.

"Jess..." He said softly and reached for her chin, trying to make her look at him. When she kept looking down he chose not to force her, instead he caressed softly her cheek and wanted to know,

"Who did this to you?"

Angell bit her bottom lip, and he could tell that her eyes were filling with tears again.

"Listen Jess, you know you can trust me - that you can tell me everything, right?" He spoke up again, seeing her nod slightly he added,

"You can tell me - no matter who it was..."

"It's not that simple, Mac...I...It's not like I don't trust you, it's just...I don't really wanna talk about it..." She said after a moment of silence and finally looked at him.

Seeing the indescribable pain in her eyes he felt something break inside of him.

"That's okay, Jess...Just take your time, alright?" Mac said, when she nodded he let his fingers slide through her hair, carefully observing her facial expression and eyes.

"Chuck..." Angell mumbled after a while, tears running over her cheeks.

"What?" Mac asked, giving her a questioning glance, and let his hand sink.

"You asked me who did this...Chuck did..." Angell stated and looked away.

Hearing that Mac's hands clenched into fists. He of course knew who Chuck was, knew about the fact that the only reason why this guy hadn't been fired and put behind bars so far was because his stepfather was so worried about bad publicity that he always helped Chuck. Forcing himself to calm down Mac wanted to know,

"For how long is he already doing this?"

Angell swallowed hard and replied,

"Two and a half months..."

"My God...Why didn't you tell me about this right away?" He asked softly.

"Because it's my own fault..."

"Jess, listen to me - don't start blaming yourself for what Chuck is doing to you."

"Mac, it _**is **_my fault. I knew about the fact that he has a really bad temper...But even after he hit me the first time, even after Caitlin had told me to leave him, I stayed." Angell bit her lip, her sobs increasing again,

"It's my fault that he killed her."

"You knew Caitlin Sullivan?" Mac gave her a surprised look.

"She used to be Chuck's girlfriend...A few weeks after Chuck and I started dating she showed up at the diner where I had gone to have lunch."

"Why are you blaming yourself for her death?"

"I told Chuck that she had come to talk with me, that she had said that I should leave him..." She paused for a moment,

"I know I should've told you that I knew Caitlin right after Lindsay had told us that she had identified the victim...But if I had told you, you would have wanted me to tell you also how I know these things - and I didn't want to have to talk about what Chuck..." Her voice broke and Mac put his arms around her. Her body shaking violently due to her sobs, Angell leaned closer, her hands clenching into his shirt to each side of her burying face.

"It's okay, Jess...Don't worry about it." Mac stated, then he remained silent and simply stroked soothingly her back with his right hand, while his left arm was still wrapped around her waist.

When her sobs slowly started to subside Mac asked,

"What changed your mind about telling me?"

Angell pulled slightly back so she could look him into the face, then she swallowed hard and started,

"After I had returned form the lab earlier I started thinking about this entire mess - and I realized that I just can't take this any longer. So, I left the precinct again, I drove to Chuck's place, got my stuff, left his keys along with a short note there and when I got home I got the lock of my door replaced." She paused, for a moment and took a sip of water,

"About an hour later there was a knock at my door, I thought it was the take-out I had ordered, so I opened. But it was Chuck. He said he wanted to talk with me. I told him that there was nothing left to talk about and that it's over..." She went silent once more, when she continued her voice was shaking,

"He pushed the door further open and came into my apartment, telling me that it wasn't up to me to end it, he slapped me into the face and told me that nobody could help me. Then he grabbed me and tried to kiss me. When I refused to let him he pushed me against the wall. I told him again that it's over and confronted him about Caitlin's death..." Her voice broke and she took another sip of water, her throat was hurting again, making it hard to continue, but she just couldn't bear to keep all of this to herself anymore...

_Flashback :_

_"You got proof for that?" He paused for a moment, walking up to her, giving her a questioning glance, when she remained silent he smirked and continued,_

_"Well, that's what I thought...You know, you should better be careful with accusations like that!" With that he slapped her again, this time however even much harder, causing her head to turn and hit the wall with her left cheek._

_As Chuck pressed her against the wall and bent down to kiss her Angell turned her head away and demanded,_

_"Let go of me."_

_"I don't even think about it, Jess..." Chuck retorted and forced her to look at him,_

_"Like it or not - you're mine!" With that he kissed her, causing Angell to close her eyes for a moment and try to free herself from his grip._

_A moment later Chuck removed his hand from her chin and let his fingertips brush over her cheek._

_"Get the hell out of my apartment!" _

_Instead of doing as he had been told he let his hands wander over her body. Before she even realized what she was doing she kicked him into the groin, causing him to make a few steps back._

_Stepping closer again he yelled,_

_"That hurt, you little bitch!"_

_"I told..." Angell started, but went silent when Chuck hit her again. Seeing how angry Chuck was by now she reached instinctively for her gun, realizing that it wasn't there she looked at the coffee-table where she had put it after she had gotten home._

_Following her gaze an evil smile appeared on Chuck's face._

_"Why don't you just relax, Jess? Huh?" As he continued his smile turned into a dirty grin,_

_"After all, unlike that dumb-ass Flack I at least know how to fuck a woman!"_

_"I'd rather die than being touched by you ever again." Angell stated, glaring angrily at him._

_"Well, that can be arranged..." Chuck pointed out, grabbed her shoulders and pushed her face-down onto the carpet. _

_Just as she wanted to get up he kicked her forcibly into her left side, flipping her slightly over so that she was now lying on her right side, facing him. The kick caused Angell to bite her lip trying to keep herself from screaming out in pain. Before the pain could even subside he kicked her again, this time into the stomach, the blow enough to make her gasp for air._

_As his foot was burying in her abdomen again she wondered once more why she had put her gun on the coffee-table instead of keeping it in its holster, or why she hadn't hurried to get it when Chuck had forced his way into her apartment._

_She tried to get up but in the matter of seconds she sank back down as he kicked her another time. Angell winced in pain and curled up, placing her arms in front of her chest. Only a moment later she screamed as his shoe connected with her right forearm. By reflex she pulled her arms away, what she regretted immediately as he kicked her twice into her ribs._

_Another kick into her stomach flipped her on her back. A moment later Chuck crouched down next to her, a smile on his face, his eyes now soft again - though she of course knew it was just an act._

_"How about a change of mind?" He asked, lifting his right hand and brushing his fingertips over her cheek._

_"Not gonna happen." Angell forced herself to speak. _

_Hearing that Chuck's facial expression changed in the matter of a split-second into a furious grimace. He pulled his hand back and clenched it into a fist, then he punched her into the face._

_As she tried once more to get up he pushed her shoulders forcibly back down and sat down on her upper thighs._

_When Chuck bent down to kiss her she started hitting his chest with her fists. Chuck, however, didn't even flinch, instead he grabbed her wrists with his left hand, he lifted her hands over her head and pressed them down onto the floor._

_"I thought I had made clear by now that I'm gonna get what I want - and that your opinion doesn't matter at all!" _

_A moment later he began to trail kisses down her throat, while reaching with his right hand for the rim of her top and pushing it up, uncovering most of her stomach. _

_For a short time he simply let his fingers wander over the now free skin then he moved his hand to the button of her jeans. It didn't take long before he had undone the button along with the zipper. _

_As Angell struggled to free her hands from his grip tears started forming in her eyes, causing his grin to widen as he leaned down, planting a kiss onto her lips._

_"Let me go!" Angell shouted, trying to keep her tears from falling._

_Then he rose onto his knees and began to pull her jeans down. After a moment he let really go off her wirsts, though only to have both hands free._

_The moment she could move her hands Angell began hitting him again. However, only a moment later he had removed her jeans, causing her to struggle even harder._

_As he reached for the rim of her panties the tears broke eventually free._

_"No! Don't...Please, stop...Let me go..." She pleaded, desperately trying to make him stop,_

_"Chuck, stop...Please, don't..."_

_Forcing herself to ignore her rising panic she let her eyes wander, frantically searching for a way to make Chuck stop, before her sight stopped on her now free legs and before she had even fully realized what she was doing she rammed her right knee a second time into Chuck's groin._

_He let out a pained sound, drawing in a sharp breath, then he hissed :_

_"Big mistake!"_

_With that he began hitting her again, each of his punches being more forcibly than the ones before. After a while he grabbed her hair pulling her head up and slamming it back down - once, twice, then a third time..._

_However, some time later he returned to punching her - into the face, the stomach..._

_Looking into his face she realized that he had no intention on stopping any time soon. It didn't take long before her surroundings started to become blurry, partly because of the tears that were still streaming over her face, but she suspected that the main cause was the growing pain in her skull._

_Suddenly he stopped hitting her, for a moment she felt relieved and dared hoping that his anger had subsided and that he would simply leave now. However, a few seconds later the relief was replaced by sheer panic as she felt his hands close around her throat._

_As he increased the pressure of his hands she tried frantically to stop him, tried to pull his hands from her throat, she scratched his arms and wrists, she even tried to reach for his gun. But eventually her efforts became weaker and weaker as her lungs were beginning to hurt, screaming for oxygen._

_End flashback _

"...I must have lost consciousness not much later..." Angell trailed off, trying hard to stop crying, but the tears just won't stop streaming over her face.

Mac pulled her into his arms, wishing he could do something to make her pain go away.

While trying to comfort her, Mac's facial expression darkened, being unable to keep himself from wondering over and over again how someone could do this to her. God, the fact that someone had hurt Angell like this was making him so incredibly angry! However, he also felt guilty for not figuring out what was going on before he had seen the bruises on her arms, for not realizing sooner what was wrong with Angell...

He knew that it must have been unbelieveable hard for her to tell him all of this, considering that she probably wanted nothing more than forget what had happened. But on the other hand he was glad that she trusted him enough to confide in him.

After a while he pulled back a bit and took a look at her face. Wiping her tears away Mac noticed how exhausted she seemed. And a moment later a small smile crossed his face as he saw her trying to stifle a yawn.

For a moment he simply caressed her cheek then he got up and told her,

"I'll be right back, okay?" Seeing her nod Mac left.

While heading to the bedroom Mac couldn't help wondering for how long Angell hadn't gotten any real rest, however, one thing was for sure she could really use some good-night sleep after everything that had happened.

Hearing Mac return Angell forced her eyes open and looked up at him. When he stretched out his hand she simply took it and got up. As soon as she was standing everything around her began spinning again and she closed her eyes. Feeling Mac put his arm around her she opened them again and gave him a questiong glance.

Seeing that Angell had trouble to keep herself on her feet Mac wrapped his left arm around her waist. As he saw the questioning expression on her face he smiled.

"Come...You gotta get some sleep." With that he led her to the bedroom.

Entering the room he stated,

"I put clothes you can wear in the bathroom." He pointed at an open door to the right and turned to leave, but stopped when Angell spoke up.

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"In the spare-room..." Mac stated and smiled at her.

Watching Mac leave Angell yawned once more, then she padded into the bathroom. After closing the door she walked further into the room, immediately seeing the navy-blue t-shirt and dark sweat-pants, which were lying over the rim of the bathtub.

Taking off her top she bit her bottom lip as a wave of pain rushed through her body. Ignoring the protest of her sore body she continued with undressing, before grabbing the t-shirt and pulling it over her head. One look at the sweat-pants was enough for her to tell that they were too big for her so she didn't bother trying them on and simply went back to the bedroom.

Angell had just laid down and pulled the sheets over her when she heard Mac return. Turning onto her right side and sitting up she saw that he was carrying a tea-pot and a cup. Watching him put both down on the nightstand next to her she got momentarily lost in her thoughts, before muttering,

"Thanks..."

"No problem, Jess..." Mac stated, smiling at her, then he added,

"Goodnight."

Just as he was about to leave he heard her say his name and he turned back to look at her. As they locked eyes Angell stated quietly,

"Stay..."

He noticed the need in her voice as she said that one word, the fear, and saw the pleading expression in her eyes, so he told her,

"Okay...I'll be right back..."

Hearing that Angell relaxed, a relieved smile appearing on her face. A moment later Mac left and Angell laid down, turning back around.

Angell was already beginning to drift off to sleep when Mac laid down next to her a few minutes later. As she felt him put carefully his right arm around her she turned toward him.

Leaning her head forward so that her forehead was resting against his chest and breathing in his scent Angell's eyes filled once again with tears and before she even realized it her body was shaking due to her sobs.

"Jess..." Mac mumbled softly, cupping her cheek with his right hand and lifting her head a bit so he could take a look at her face,

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry..." Angell replied almost inaudible, causing Mac to frown.

"For what?" He asked softly.

"For bothering you with all of this - especially this late at night...But I just didn't know where else to go..." She told him between her sobs.

"Listen Jess, it's okay, really...You're not bothering me, okay?" As she nodded he added,

"Try to get some sleep, 'k?"

Angell nodded once more and after a moment Mac turned onto his back and wrapped his left arm around her waist. As Angell snuggled closer and rested her head on his chest he lifted his right hand and let his fingers slide through her hair. To his relief Angell began soon to calm down, her sobs subsiding more and more.

Squeezing her eyes shut Angell tried to just stop thinking, to stop thinking about the earlier events, about Chuck, but most of all she tried to push the guilt away - tried to ignore how wrong it felt to lie in Mac's arms...

Noticing that Angell seemed to be completely lost in her thoughts he wondered what was going through her mind. But he chose to remain quiet, ignoring the urge to ask her what she was thinking, coming to the conclusion that if she wanted him to know she would tell him.

It didn't take long before he felt Angell relax in his arms and only a few minutes later he fell asleep as well.

_Some time later :_

Mac wasn't sure for how long he had been sleeping when he was woken by a frightened scream.

Sitting up and turning his head slightly he noticed Angell sitting next to him and realized that it must have been her scream that had woken him. Her entire body was shaking, he heard that she was crying and he could tell that she had trouble breathing. A few seconds later he lifted his hand to her shoulder.

As she felt a hand reaching for her right shoulder Angell began screaming and her hands clenched into fists. Spinning around she started hitting the person in front of her, still being caught in her way too vivid nightmare.

"No! Leave me alone!" She screamed at him.

When Angell spun around and began hitting him against his chest Mac was startled for a moment. After a few seconds, however, he got a hold of her wrists, though he paid attention not to hurt her.

"Stop! No, please, don't...Please...Stop! Let me go!" Angell kept repeating over and over, her voice filled with desperation, her words almost getting lost between her sobs, and struggled to free her hands, while trying simultaneously to hit him again.

"Jess! Relax, it's me...You had a nightmare..." Mac tried to calm her and after a short while her screams became quieter and her struggle against his careful grip on her wrists weakened,

"It was just a nightmare, Jess...You're safe now..." A moment later Mac let go of her wrists and drew her into an embrace.

Calming slowly down Angell got eventually aware of where she was.

"I'm sorry, Mac...So sorry..." She whimpered, still crying, burying her head in his chest, hands clenching his shirt.

"It's okay, Jess..." Mac assured, rubbing softly her back with his right hand, while his left hand was resting on the back of her neck,

"Don't worry, it's okay..."

When her sobs had subsided Angell pulled away, lifting her hands to her face to wipe her tears away.

"Sorry..." She repeated once more, looking down.

Reaching for her chin and lifting her face to look at her Mac stated,

"You don't have to apologize, really Jess...It's okay." Beginning to caress her cheek he wanted to know,

"What did you dream?"

For a moment Angell hesitated and just looked at him, but then she took a deep breath and started,

"I dreamed about earlier, about when Chuck was trying to rape me..." She swallowed hard and when she continued her voice was shaking,

"Only that in my dream he didn't just try..." Angell trailed off, her eyes once more glistening with tears.

After a moment of hesitation Mac broke the silence again and asked,

"Jess, did he ever...rape you?" He had to force himself to finish the question, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer.

Hearing Mac's question Angell let her head hang and remained quiet, not trusting her voice enough to speak.

Lifting softly her head Mac found the answer to his question written all over her face as he saw the tears streaming over her cheeks, the pain in her eyes.

"God, Jess..." He pulled her close again, trying to soothe her pain even though he knew that he won't be able to make the pain go away.

"It was just once..." Angell mumbled quietly, though that was only partly true. Chuck had never left her much of a choice, but normally she had surrendered eventually, hoping that if she simply did what he wanted he might not hit her. That night, however, she hadn't given in, so he had raped her.

It had been the night before Flack had found out, she had wanted to break up with Chuck that night. However when he had showed up he was quite drunk and before she had even been able to say something he had grabbed her arm and had kissed her. She had told him to let go of her and leave, but he had ignored her, instead he had increased his grip on her arm and had pulled her into her bedroom. When she had tried to make him stop he had hit her...

"Jess?" Mac's voice interrupted her reverie and she looked at him.

Noticing that Angell was once more lost in her thoughts Mac frowned and a moment later he spoke quietly up, trying not to startle her.

When she looked at him he asked,

"You're okay?" Seeing her nod he suggested,

"How about trying to get some more sleep?"

A tiny smile crossed her face and she stated,

"Sounds good..."

_About ten minutes later : _

They were both just on the best way to fall asleep again when Angell's cell phone started ringing, the sudden sound causing her to flinch. A short time later she sat up and reached hesitantly for the item, which lay on the nightstand, after all, the call could be work-related...

"Angell..." She stated quietly, not trusting her voice enough to speak louder.

_"Where are you, you little bitch?" _Chuck yelled on the other end of the line, causing Angell to start shaking, tears forming in her eyes,

_"Well, it doesn't matter...You __**can't**__ hide from me! I'll find you and when I do, you're gonna beg for mercy! What I did with Caitlin before I shot her will seem like nothing when I'm through with you! Nobody can protect you!" _With that Chuck hung up.

Angell just stared blankly ahead, barely noticing it when Mac took the cell phone from her shaking hand and, turning it off, put it back on the nightstand.

Having heard every word Chuck had said and seeing that Angell was crying, Mac felt his anger rising again.

"He's never gonna stop..." Angell mumbled after a moment.

Pulling her into his arms Mac told her,

"Listen Jess, he can't hurt you anymore, okay? You're safe...I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you again."

Feeling Angell beginning to relax Mac leaned back down, still holding her in his arms.

_Around half-past two AM :_

Mac wasn't quite sure what exactly had woken him this time, but that thought quickly vanished from his mind as he looked at Angell, who was tossing from side to side next to him, a half pained, half scared expression on her face.

"No, Chuck, please..." Angell mumbled in her sleep, her voice pleading, causing Mac to frown,

"Please, don't do this...He..." As she suddenly went silent his frown deepened and he wondered what she was dreaming, though he was quite sure that it probably was yet another nightmare.

Just a few seconds later Angell woke with a start and screamed,

"Don...no!"

Angell struggled for breath, trying hard not to cry again, even though she knew that it was a losing battle. Feeling Mac sit up next to her she slowly turned toward him, her tears breaking free.

Seeing the tears streaming over Angell's face Mac reached with his right hand for her face. As she flinched at his touch Mac bit his lower lip, trying to ignore the slight pang of hurt her reaction evoked. Studying her face more carefully he couldn't help but wonder what she had been dreaming. However, before he was able to say or ask something Angell leaned closer, resting her forehead against the top of his chest, her hands clenching tightly his t-shirt.

After a moment of surprise he put his arms around her, drawing her closer, and rested his chin on top of her head. Holding her shaking body he waited for her to calm down, closing his eyes and just inhaling her soft scent, wishing there was a way he could make her pain disappear.

As her sobs were slowly subsiding Angell pulled slightly away and mumbled barely above a whisper,

"I'm sorry that I woke you up."

"It's okay, Jess..." Mac assured, smiling at her and drew her closer again. After all, considering everything she had gone through recently it wasn't really surprising that she had nightmares.

When they laid down again Mac let his fingers slide through her hair. Somehow he hoped that Angell would now finally get some more rest - without having another nightmare, after all, she could really use the sleep after all that had happened...

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Once again, thanks for reading!_


	7. Complications

_**A/N:**_

_ Here's the new rewritten update, this time there are only some smaller changes...I actually didn't want to post this 'til Friday, because I didn't feel like uploading anything new just yet, but since I was using the laptop anyways I figured I could also do it now..._

_

* * *

_

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_7. Complications_

When Mac woke up again it was already getting light. A moment later he turned around and, propping himself on his left elbow, took a look at Angell. Seeing that she was still sleeping he simply watched her for a while.

Taking a look at her face he once more wished he had found out sooner about what was going on. Now that her make-up had worn off it was even more obvious that Angell had gone through hell those passed couple of weeks. Though it seemed like Chuck had paid attention to not hit her into the face - until the passed evening, considering that the bruises on her face were basically all still fresh.

After a moment of hesitation he folded the sheets back and immediately saw the strangulation-marks on her throat. It was probably nothing but a coincidence that Angell was still alive, Chuck had probably thought she was dead when he had left and luckily she had regained consciousness before he had returned...

Letting his eyes wander further down he noticed that the t-shirt he had given her to wear had slid up, reveiling most of her abdomen, which was basically covered completely by a huge bruise. A moment later he stretched his right hand out and let his fingertips brush softly over her abdomen, carefully tracing the outlines of the bruise.

Feeling Angell's intense gaze on him he wanted to know,

"Does it hurt a lot?"

Looking at her he saw Angell shaking softly her head no then she stated,

"I guess, it looks worse than it is..."

"How did you sleep?" Mac asked after a moment of silence.

A small smile crossed her face and she replied :

"Well, I didn't have another nightmare..."

Mac nodded silently and lifted his right hand, caressing softly her cheek.

"How are you feeling?"

Angell closed her eyes at the tender touch of his fingertips. When she looked back at him they locked eyes and she said,

"A bit better..."

He could tell by the look in her eyes that she was telling him the truth and felt relieved by that fact. Letting his fingers slide through her hair, Mac studied her face. He couldn't help noticing that something seemed different about her. However, it took him a moment to realize that it was the soft smile on her lips that was different...

Unlike her smiles in the passed few weeks he could tell that this one wasn't fake and it made him realize just how much he had missed her smile. As he kept looking at her face he got once more aware of that incredibly strong longing he felt whenever she was around him...

For a moment he was tempted to lean down and kiss her, but he knew he couldn't do that. After all, Angell had already gone through enough - he couldn't let his feelings for her show, couldn't take the risk to make things even harder for her. Right now she needed someone she could trust, a friend...

Before he was able to finish that thought his cell phone rang, announcing an incoming text-message and he turned around to take it from the nightstand.

"A new case?" Angell asked, while sitting up.

"Yeah..." Mac replied and turned back to look at her, then he suggested,

"How about you take a shower while I make some coffee?"

"Okay..." Angell stated and smiled at him.

After watching Mac get up and leave Angell eventually got out of bed as well and headed into the bathroom.

As the water was running over her skin Angell closed her eyes for a moment, simply enjoying the warmth.

When she stepped out of the shower a few minutes later she hurried to get dressed, considering that there was a new case and she certainly prefered doing something productive instead of thinking about her troubles.

Walking out of the bathroom and searching for Mac, Angell took the time to study her surroundings more carefully, considering that she had been way too exhausted the passed night as that she had bothered to pay much attention.

One thing was for sure, Mac was extremely orderly - absolutely nothing seemed out of its place. As she went through the living-room Angell stopped at a book-shelf. Most of it was occupied by books - which ranged between absolute classics like Melville's _Moby Dick_ and rather modern novels - and several CDs, however, what really caught her eyes were the few framed photographs that were standing on the shelves.

One of the pictures had been taken at someone's birthday and showed him with his team and Flack, another one showed him during his time as Marine. A third photgraph had been taken at Christmas, a boy was sitting in front of the decorated tree, tearing carelessly a gift-box open, and Angell couldn't keep a smile from crossing her face when she realized that the boy had to be Mac.

A moment later she took another photo from the top-shelf and studied it carefully. It showed Mac and Claire at their wedding. He was standing behind Claire, his arms wrapped around her waist, both of them smiling happily...

"It seems like a life-time has passed since that day..." Angell heard Mac say and was so startled that she almost let the photo fall. She hadn't noticed him walking up to her and couldn't help wondering for how long he had already been standing there.

Only a few seconds later Mac lifted his hand to take the picture from her shaking one, his fingertips brushing over her skin in the process. At the soft touch Angell looked at him and as their eyes met she couldn't help but notice a glimpse of longing in his blue ones, but it was gone so quickly that she evetnually dismissed it as a result of her imagination running wild.

Somehow feeling guilty for intruding his privacy like this Angell broke finally the silence,

"Sorry, Mac...I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay, Jess..." Mac interrupted and smiled at her, then he took a short look at the photograph and put it back in its place.

A moment later he turned and went to the kitchen, Angell following him after a few seconds. After they had both taken a seat at the kitchen-table Mac filled two cups with coffee then he asked,

"Are you hungry?"

Angell thought for a few seconds then she shook softly her head and said,

"Not really..."

_Fifteen minutes later :_

As they stepped out of the building Mac wanted to know,

"Do you have your gun still at home?"

"Eh, no...It's in my car..." Angell replied and went to get mentioned item along with her purse, while Mac already headed to his car and unlocked it.

When Angell had sat down on the passenger-seat and had fastened the seat-belt Mac drove off.

Observing Angell in the corner of his eye Mac frowned for a moment as he watched how she covered the bruises on her face and throat with make-up as if it was nothing out of the ordinary. A few seconds later a heavy sigh escaped his mouth as he realized that this probably had really become routine to her by now...

After applying her make-up Angell simply stared out of the window next to her for the rest of the ride. She couldn't wait to get started with work, not wanting to keep thinking about Chuck, about what had happened the passed evening or that late-night call - her nightmares...

As he stopped the car Mac took a look at Angell, who was totally lost in her thoughts.

"We're there." He said after a moment, and got out of the car, then he turned to look at her again and asked,

"You're okay, Jess?"

Hearing the concern in Mac's voice Angell turned toward him, a soft smile on her lips, and replied,

"Yeah...I was just lost in thought, that's all." Watching Mac go to get his kit from the trunk she unbuckled the seatbelt and got eventually out of the car.

Taking a quick look around she chose to take first a look at the victim before doing anything else. When she passed Stella, who had apparently just arrived as well, she simply ignored the CSI's questioning glance and continued on her way over to Hawkes and Lindsay.

After asking Hawkes about the results of his first examination of the body Angell frowned for a moment and looked around in search for Flack, considering that they worked together on the case and she had to figure out what he already knew about the vic.

As Mac locked his car Stella approached him and, while they headed to the actual crime scene, she mused,

"So, Angell was that late visitor?"

Observing Angell walking over to Flack, who was talking with one of the uniformed officers next to the crime-scene-tape, Mac stated,

"Eh, yeah..." He decided to leave it at that, after all, he wasn't in the position to go around and tell people what Chuck had done to Angell.

Looking back at Stella he saw her frown, but she remained quiet. By now they had reached the victim and Mac wanted to know,

"What do you know so far?"

* * *

Seeing Angell approach Flack frowned, not sure what to expect. Ever since he had confronted her about what Chuck was doing to her and making the mistake of telling Stella about his knowledge their relationship had become extremely strained.

He knew that Angell was still angry and that fact pained him, considering that he still cared a lot about her even though they had broken up almost four months ago...

_Flashback :_

_Turning toward Angell, who was lying deep asleep in his arms, Flack thought once more about the entire situation between them. He wasn't quite sure if it had been wise to get involved with her, but he had always had a thing for her and therefore he hadn't been able to resist the temptation when he had suddenly had the chance to be with her._

_However, thinking back now he realized that it had probably been a huge mistake to give in to his feelings for her. After all, beside the fact that he had more than just a serious crush on her she was also one of his best friends and he couldn't help worrying that in case this thing between them didn't work he won't just lose her as girlfriend but also as friend. _

_The flirtatious banter they had shared pretty much from the beginning had been one thing, but getting actually romantically involved was a completely different matter..._

_A sigh escaped him as he came to the conclusion that thinking this much about it was no help at all. For Christ's sake this entire analyzing their relationship, the events that had led to them getting involved - it didn't help, in fact it made it only more complicated and he won't figure out what to do anyways._

_Deciding that he should better get some sleep now instead of keeping to try figuring out what he should do about Angell and him, he wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her closer._

_Just as he was on the best way to drift off to sleep Angell shifted in his arms, snuggling closer and mumbled something in her sleep._

_It was only one word, barely more than a whisper, but nonetheless it caused something inside of him to break..._

_End flashback_

"Flack?" Angell's voice forced his mind back to reality and he turned to look at her, giving her a questioning glance,

"Would you mind telling me what you know so far about the victim?"

"Eh, sorry..." Flack replied, somehow glad to get distracted from his thoughts,

"His name's Andy Ramirez, turned twenty-three last month. Background check revealed that..." He trailed off as he noticed a car coming slowly into their direction.

Normally he won't bother taking a second glance at the car, knowing quite well that people tended to slow down when seeing a crime scene, or a car accident for that matter, trying to catch a glimpse of the victims, after all, curiosity - especially when it came down to tragedies - was one huge part of human nature...

However, something about this car just didn't seem right and even though he wasn't quite sure what it was, it was enough to put him on edge. A few seconds later he suddenly realized what it was - the car had no plates and there was a hole in one of the doors that looked suspiciously like a bullet-hole.

"Flack?" He heard Angell ask, and he could tell by the sound of her voice that she was giving him a half questioning, half annoyed look.

By now the car was almost level with them and the two guys on the back- and passenger-seat lifted their arms, stretching their hands out of the windows. There was a metallic blink as the items in their hands reflected the sunlight.

"Jess, get down!" Flack shouted, already pushing her to the ground, just as shots started ringing through the air.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Well, thanks for reading, I hope you liked it! I don't know yet when I will be able to post the rewritten version of the next chapter, but I'm already working on it! Anyways, please do me a favor and review..._


	8. Revelations, Part 1

_**A/N:**__ If I'm honest I gotta admit that I actually had wanted to let you wait for at least a week before posting the rest of the rewritten chapters, but that would have been a little mean, right? Well, I made some major changes throughout this chapter and basically rewrote the ending of it... Anyways, I hope you're gonna like it!_

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_8. Revelations, Part 1_

As he saw in the corner of his eye how Flack pushed Angell to the ground Mac frowned for a short moment. However, as he heard the shots Mac instinctively took cover behind the victim's car.

Barely a minute passed before it was silent again and the car was gone. Straightening up Mac took a quick look around to figure out if somebody had been injured.

Stella and Hawkes, who had gotten up by now as well, seemed confused but otherwise okay, and Lindsay, who had gone to help Danny with looking for some sort of evidence at the other side of the crime scene seemed alright as well, just like Danny.

Seeing Flack getting up and stretching out his hand to help Angell get up Mac couldn't help releasing a relieved sigh. Though that relief was almost immediately replaced by concern when he saw that she could barely keep herself on her feet.

"Hawkes..." Mac paused, wanting to make sure that he had his colleague's full attention,

"Go and check what's wrong with Angell."

Hawkes nodded and headed over to Flack and Angell.

* * *

Angell was already about to yell at Flack for pushing her down, when she saw in the corner of her eye the two men in the car - their guns. Not even a split-second later she saw the two men pull simultaneously the trigger and her eyes flew shut.

After she and Flack had hit the ground Angell wondered for a short moment who these men were and why they were shooting at them. However, that question quickly faded from her mind as she opened her eyes and gazed up into Flack's face, which was hovering merely an inch over her own.

He was lying on top of her, pinning her against the pavement, his left hand was resting on the ground next to her face, while the right was resting on her waist as her own hands were pressed against his chest. She could feel his warm breath on her face, could feel the heat radiating from him - could feel his weight on her.

Inhaling his soft scent she tried to keep her mind from drifting off to their relationship, to all those nights he had made love to her. But it was simply impossible, considering that his close proximity was already enough for her heart to beat faster, the feeling of his hand on her waist enough to send waves of sparkles rushing through her veins...

Studying his face Angell couldn't keep herself from wondering if he was feeling it as well, if his mind was currently racing just like hers - if he was thinking about the fact that it would only take the smallest movement and their lips would meet...However, if he did he was incredible good at hiding it, considering that his face was completely unreadable to her and somehow she hoped that hers wasn't giving away what was currently going through her mind either. After all, they were over now for months, he was with Stella now and even though it hurt like hell she had to admit that he seemed happy with the CSI.

But nonetheless she felt more and more tempted to simply get a hold of his shirt and draw him closer, to just steal a kiss from his lips without caring who could see, without giving a damn about pissing Stella off...

Angell wasn't sure how much time had passed when the car picked up speed and disappeared with squealing tires around the closest corner, but she suspected that it had barely been a minute - though it had seemed more like a felt eternity to her. As Flack got up she could barely keep a heavy sigh from escaping her mouth at the sudden loss of his warmth, his proximity.

A moment later he stretched out his right hand and after a few seconds of hesitation she took it, forcing herself to push her thoughts away.

As soon as she was standing she freed her hand from his light grip, though she regretted that right away as she started feeling dizzy and her vision became black.

"Jess? You're okay?" Flack asked, concern etched to his voice and lifted his hand to her shoulder in an attempt of steadying her.

"I'm fine!" Angell hissed breathlessly, pushing his hand away and glaring at him.

She should've eaten something despite the fact that she wasn't feeling hungry, considering that she hadn't eaten anything since lunch the passed day. However, she was fine nonetheless, the dizziness was nothing but a result of her empty stomach - it had nothing to do with the fact that she felt like she couldn't breathe, right?

In the corner of her eye she could see Mac say something to Hawkes, the younger CSI nodded and came into their direction. Only a moment later Mac approached them as well.

Feeling her anger rising in her Angell tried to take some deep, calming breaths - but it didn't work, instead her chest hurt as she tried to get more oxygen into her lungs. Her chest felt like something was pressing it together, making it almost impossible to breathe properly.

"What's wrong, Angell?" Hawkes asked.

"No-thing..." She forced out of her mouth.

"She can't breathe - that's wrong!" Flack pointed out, a frustrated expression appearing on his face as Angell shot a death-glare at him.

As Hawkes stepped closer and lifted his right hand Angell retreated and stated angrily,

"I'm...fine..."

"Listen Jess, either you let Hawkes check what's wrong with you or we'll have to get you to a hospital right away." Mac spoke eventually up, already pulling out his cell phone.

Hearing that she stared for a moment in disbelief at Mac, but when Hawkes gave her a questioning glance and went closer to her once more she simply stayed were she was, knowing that Mac had meant what he had said - and when there was one thing she didn't want it was having to go to a hospital! After all, there were already enough people that knew about what Chuck had done to her those passed couple of weeks...

After a few seconds Hawkes lifted his hands and began checking her for injuries. Being determined not to show any reaction Angell bit her bottom lip. However, just a moment later tears shot into her eyes and a pained scream escaped her mouth as Hawkes pressed carefully against the lowest rib on her left side.

"It's broken..." Hawkes stated surprised.

"What?" Flack exclaimed in disbelief.

Turning toward Flack Hawkes told him :

"It's not your fault, Flack...The rib must have already been cracked before - otherwise it won't have broken when you pushed her to the ground."

While listening to Hawkes an angry expression appeared on Flack's face and his hands clenched into fists, but he remained silent. He didn't need to be a psychic to figure out who was responsible for this and that fact made him so goddamn furious that he wanted nothing more than killing this son-of-a-bitch with his bare hands...

Noticing Flack's reaction as Hawkes told them that Angell's rib must have already been injured before Mac couldn't help but frown.

"So, what did the background check reveal?" Angell asked and looked questioning at Flack, seeing the blank expressions on the faces of Mac, Hawkes and Flack, she inquired,

"May I remind you that we have a case to solve?"

"You don't have to solve anything!" Flack replied harsher than he had intended,

"You have a broken rib - you should be at a hospital and not at a crime scene!"

"Well, it won't be broken if you goddamn stupid jerk won't have pushed me!" Angell retorted, sure, she knew that it wasn't fair of her to blame Flack for this, but she was simply so angry - and if he won't be the traget of her anger it would be someone else. Plus she was indeed mad at Flack for what he had done, though not because it had caused that rib to break, she was angry because of the way his proximity had made her feel - because he still affected her like that...

"I'm not going anywhere until we solved this case!"

"Listen Angell, Flack is..." Hawkes tried, but she cut him off.

"Did I ask you for your goddamn opinion? I don't think so, so shut the fuck up!" Jess yelled, glaring furiously at Hawkes,

"I'm going to work on this case! Now answer my goddamn question!"

At that Flack gave Mac a look that ranged somewhere between frustration and helplessness. When Mac only shrugged in return Flack sighed heavily and said,

"Our victim had a record for robbery and drug possession with intent of selling..."

A moment later he turned and went to talk with Stella. Watching them talk Mac couldn't help but frown angrily. It didn't seem like they were talking about the case, Flack was obviously upset, after some time he pointed at Angell and said something to Stella, causing her to look at Angell and shake slowly her head.

Taking a mental note to have a talk with the two of them as soon as they were back at the lab Mac focused his attention back on Hawkes and Angell.

_At the lab, about an hour later :_

Following Hawkes to autopsy Angell frowned angrily. She could kill Mac for this - and even more so Flack for pushing her to the ground, considering that it was the reason for all of this.

"Is this really necessary?" Angell inquired, her voice etched with annoyance.

"You heard Mac - either I take a closer look at your broken rib, or you have to go to the hospital, take your pick." Hawkes replied matter of factly.

"Fine..." Angell mumbled in surrender. She didn't like the idea nontheless, one way or the other people at work would find out now that Chuck had beaten her - and that fact made her goddamn angry.

"Wait here for a moment..." Hawkes stated as they had reached autopsy, and he headed to talk with someone.

About a minute or two later he came back and signalled her to follow him. Taking a look around a frown appeared on her face as she noticed that the room was basically vacant - beside the bodies on the stretchers that was.

Seeing the surprise on Angell's face Hawkes smiled and explained,

"I thought you might prefer it if there wasn't anyone around..."

Hearing that a small smile appeared on her face and she said just above a whisper,

"Thanks..."

_Meanwhile, Mac's office :_

Taking a seat at his desk, after getting himself some coffee and checking on Lindsay's and Danny's progress, Mac let out a heavy sigh and checked once more the time. For a moment he considered to work on some paperwork while he was waiting, before deciding to use the time for figuring out how to handle the entire issue.

Only a few minutes later he was disturbed in his thoughts by a knock on his office-door, followed by Stella's voice.

"You wanted to talk with us?"

Looking up and seeing her and Flack standing in the door-way Mac singalled them to come in and stated,

"Close the door..."

After watching them enter and how Stella closed the door Mac remained silent for a little longer, wondering once more about how to approach the topic, before chosing to simply get right to the point and inquiring,

"For how long did the two of you already know?" As Flack gave him a questioning look at that, he pointed out,

"When Hawkes said that Angell's rib must have already been injured before you didn't seem the least surprised and judging by the exchange between you and Stella after you had told us the result of the background-check I assume both of you knew. The question is, for how long did you already know about what Chuck is doing to her?"

Hearing that a surprised expression crossed both of their faces. After a moment of silence Flack sighed and replied slightly hesitant,

"I suspected it pretty much from the beginning, considering Chuck's reputation...But I wasn't sure until about a month ago..."

At that an angry expression crossed Mac's face and he demanded to know,

"You knew about this _**for a month**_ and neither of you bothered to say anything?"

Flack sighed again and replied calmly,

"She made pretty clear that it was nobody's business and that she didn't want help. And I know better than messing with her when she's already angry - I mean, you saw her at the crime scene..." He paused for a moment,

"It's not like I didn't try to make her realize that she had to get out of that relationship and so did Stella - but she didn't wanna hear any of it..."

For a few seconds Mac only shook his head in disbelief, incapable of comprehending how Stella and Flack could've kept this from him. It made him furious that they had known about what Chuck was doing to Angell and hadn't said a goddamn word...

"You should have told me nonetheless." Mac stated eventually.

"I wasn't in the position to do that. Jess didn't want anyone to know - which I can actually understand by the way - and I chose to respect that." Flack replied after a moment of silence, slowly getting angry himself.

Mac frowned and pointed out,

"You told Stella..."

"That's something completely different." Came the almost immediate, blunt response.

At that Mac pricked his ears, considering that there had been something in Flack's voice that he couldn't quite decipher. As he looked at the homocide detective he found an unreadable expression on his face, his eyes were prefectly guarded, not giving the least away what was going through his mind.

"Really? And how would it make any difference?" Mac inquired, not the least willing to let the issue slide.

"Why can't you just let it drop, huh Mac?" Flack demanded to know angrily, his hands clenching into fists, as Mac remained silent he added,

"Beside the fact that I had no right to tell you, Jess was already mad enough at me after I found out that Chuck was beating her and confronted her about it, and the fact that I told Stella only made her that much more angry. Why should I have destroyed the last few remains of our friendship by telling you as well, even though I knew perfectly well that it won't change a goddamn thing?"

While listening to what Flack was saying Mac got up from his seat, pushing his hands firmly down on his desk and the moment Flack had trailed off he shouted,

"So you simply chose to look away and let him keep hurting her?"

"Mac, you can't pin this on us!" Stella retorted just as angry after she had remained silent throughout the entire prior conversation,

"We tried to make her realize that she has to leave Chuck - it's neither Flack's nor my fault that Angell is too goddamn stubborn to accept help!"

"What does it actually matter to you why we didn't tell you? After all, apparently she told you now herself..." Flack hissed.

Hearing that Mac's anger boilt entirely over and he yelled furiously,

"Yeah, she did - after Chuck tried raping her and almost killed her when she fought back!"

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ First of all, I wanna thank ya for reading - I hope you liked this chapter! I'm already gonna post the rest of the rewritten chapters today as well. Please review! _


	9. Revelations, Part 2

_**A/N:**__ Just like I promised, another rewritten chapter, only minor changes... _

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_9. Revelations, Part 2_

For a moment Hawkes only stared at the monitor in front of him then he turned to look at Angell and asked,

"What happened?"

"None of your freakin' business..." She hissed in response.

He sighed, then he pointed out,

"Listen Jess, you have not only a broken rib but also another five that are cracked. These injuries have to be treated properly or you will have quite a lot of trouble with this later - and I can't treat them here, so you have to see a doctor..."

"No...I agreed that you take a X-ray - but that's it!" Angell stated angrily,

"Can I go now?"

"Yeah..." He surrendered and watched her leave.

_Meanwhile :_

At his words a shocked expression appeared on Stella's face, while Flack clenched his hands even harder into fists, his eyes filling with an indescribable rage. Coming to the realization that he had _**never**_ seen the younger man this angry Mac couldn't help wondering about the reason for that extreme reaction.

However, before either of them was able to say something the door opened and as he turned around Mac saw Danny standing in the door-way.

"Sorry, for interrupting, but I found something..." Danny stated and walked further into the room,

"I checked the bullet from the vic's body as well as several bullets from the drive-by and found out that one of the guns from earlier this morning has not only been the gun that killed Andy Ramirez, but when I checked IBIS I also found out that it was used to kill a cop, two months ago. I took a look at the case-file from back then and found this..." Danny handed Mac the monitor he had been holding,

"I think it wasn't a coincidence that these guys showed up at the crime scene and started shooting at us..."

Taking a look at the monitor Mac frowned and nodded.

"It was an attempt of taking revenge..." He mumbled and showed the monitor to Flack and Stella.

"They wanted to kill Jess..." Flack said as he looked at the monitor and read that it had been Angell's case and that she had been responsible for putting the killer behind bars.

"So, Andy Ramirez was nothing but colleteral damage? - They just killed him to have the chance to kill Angell? That doesn't make sense..." Stella stated, a frown on her face,

"After all, they couldn't have known who would be assigned to the case - and even less that Angell would come with you to the crime scene..."

"Well, I doubt that he was only colleteral damage...The guy who killed Detective Sanchez two months ago is the younger brother of Frederic García and the site where we found Ramirez is part of the territory of him and his gang. Ramirez belonged to a rival gang, that's probably why they killed him..." Flack pointed out,

"Anyways, I'll get a warrant for García and call when we got him in custody..."

"Good..." Mac agreed and Flack left.

Before Mac was able to say something else his cell phone started ringing and he hurried to answer the call.

"You're done with the autopsy?" He asked, already heading out of his office. After listening for a moment he stated,

"I'll be right there." Looking at Stella and Danny, who had followed him into the hallway, he added,

"I gotta get to autopsy...Listen, try to find out if there could've been a second person involved in the murder of Detective Sanchez, after all, the guys from this morning must have gotten a hold of the gun somehow..."

His two colleagues nodded and went to Ballistics. A moment later he saw Hawkes approaching and couldn't help but frown.

As the young CSI had reached him Mac wanted to know,

"Where's Angell?"

"I told her she could go..." Hawkes stated, watching Mac pull out his cell phone he asked,

"Is something wrong?"

While dialing Angell's number Mac replied,

"The men who fired the shots at the crime scene were after Angell..." When his call only went to voice-mail he sighed and asked,

"Anyways, what did you wanna tell me?"

"Well, like you told me to do I took a X-ray of Angell's chest, beside the broken rib there are another five which are cracked. When I asked her what happened she didn't wanna tell me, but to me it looked pretty much like a result of abuse - at least it would explain her reluctance to go to a hospital or to see a doctor..." Hawkes answered.

Mac sighed and thought for a moment then he said,

"I gotta get to autopsy...Do me a favor and see if you can find Angell somewhere..."

"Got it..."

* * *

Refilling her cup with coffee Angell released a sigh. She was so damn exhausted, considering that she hadn't slept much the passed night because of her nightmares, though she had certainly gotten more sleep than in the nights before.

As she turned around to take a seat at the table she noticed Lindsay and Hawkes approach and couldn't help but frown.

"Here you are..." Hawkes stated as they had reached her.

"Yeah, I'm here ever since I left autopsy...Any particular reason why you were looking for me?" Angell said giving him a questioning glance.

"Mac asked me to search for you after he tried to call you and you didn't answer the call." Hawkes replied.

"Really?" Angell frowned and pulled her cell out. Taking a look at the display she realized that she had forgotten to turn it back on after she had gotten up,

"Did he mention why he wanted to talk with me?"

"I guess he's worried 'bout you..." Hawkes said in response.

"I'm fine...For Christ's sake, it's just a broken rib - it's no big deal..." Angell pointed out, an angry frown appearing on her face.

"How did that other rib get broken?" Hawkes asked, and seeing the puzzled expression on Angell's face he explained,

"I saw the healed fractur on the X-ray..."

"I had a lot of broken bones throughout my childhood - after all, I have four older brothers...As the only girl I had two options, either playing their kind of games and risking some bruises and scratches - or being the odd one out and playing all day on my own." Angell paused to take a sip of her coffee,

"But to answer your question...There was a really big tree in our backyard and one afternoon, my mom had gone to get some groceries and my dad was inside the house, my brothers were once again climbing up that tree. I told them they should stop with it, considering that our dad would be furious if he caught them. One of them pointed out that I was only saying that because I didn't have the guts to climb up the tree myself. I wanted to prove them wrong so I climbed up the damn tree. Just as I had reached the top my dad came out and yelled at us - I let go of the branch I was holding on to and fell...Beside the broken rib I had a heavy concussion and a sprained wrist..."

"Let me guess, when you got back home the tree was gone..." Hawkes mused.

"Nope, when I got home I went straight to the backyard and climbed up the tree again..." Angell said, causing Lindsay to grin and Hawkes to shake his head.

_Meanwhile at autopsy :_

"What did you find?" Mac asked, giving Sid a questioning look.

"Well, like already suspected Andy Ramirez died due to the gunshot-wound in his chest. Death was probably instantaneous. However, I'm still waiting for the results from Tox." Sid replied.

"Anything else?"

"He had some scars from older injuries - he was shot and stabbed several times...But other than that I didn't find anything interesting..."

Hearing that Mac nodded and left to check on the progress of his colleagues.

Just as he had reached Ballistics his cell phone rang. Taking a look at the display he saw that it was Flack and hurried to answer.

"What's up?"

_"Well, a police patrol just arrested García. I thought you might wanna be there when I question him..." _Flack replied.

"I'll be right there..." Mac stated and turned to head to the elevator.

_At the precinct, forty minutes later :_

As they entered the interrogation-room Flack sat down at the table and looking at García he stated,

"Long time no see, Freddy..."

"Would you please tell me why I'm here?" García inquired.

"Recognize this guy?" Flack asked and put a photo of Ramirez on the table.

"No, should I?"

"Well, one of your guys killed him last night...Anyways, you remember her?" Flack asked, showing him a picture of Angell,

"You told your men to kill her because she put your little brother behind bars."

"What the hell are you talking about?" García exclaimed.

"I'm talking about the fact that your men waited close to the crime scene for her to show up and then started shooting at her and everybody else!" Flack yelled, glaring angrily at the man in front of him.

"Listen, you got the wrong guy! I have nothing to do with this!" Freddy pointed out.

"You really wanna tell me that you had no idea of this? One of them used the gun with which your brother killed Detective Sanchez!" Flack retorted.

Freddy sighed, then he stated,

"I have nothing to do with this. And my brother didn't kill Sanchez..."

"He told my colleague each little detail, details that only the killer could know..."

"He didn't know she was a cop and told her about the murder of Sanchez to impress her - she tricked him! Beside that - yeah he was there, but he didn't pull the trigger. And concerning the attack on your colleague I have nothing to do with that!" Freddy told them,

"First of all, I won't tolerate it if one of my men killed a cop and furthermore I don't have a grudge against her."

"Seriously? She's responsible for your brother's arrest and you wanna tell us that you're not mad at her?" Mac spoke up, eye-brows raised.

Freddy sighed again and replied,

"Yeah...Look, she just did her job, right? It's not her fault that Scotty is too dumb to keep his mouth shut, or that he tried to impress her with the crime of somebody else...And futhermore I'm actually glad that he went to jail - maybe that will straighten him out. I never wanted him to become like me...Maybe being in jail for a while will force him to come to his senses and change his ways..."

"Let's say we believed you...If you didn't tell them to kill Detective Angell - who gave the order and who killed Sanchez?" Flack gave him a look.

"Well, maybe you should look in the opposite direction..." Came Freddy's cryptic response.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Flack demanded to know, his hands clenching into fists.

"It means that you should maybe ask yourself how it comes that none of your raids in our warehouses and apartments is successful, why we always outsmart you..."

"You're implying that a cop is responsible for Sanchez' death and the events of this morning?" Mac inquired.

"Exactly...I don't know his name - and even if I did, I like my life too much to tell you who it is. However, what I _**can **_tell you is that Sanchez had to die because he knew too much and wanted to report your corrupt friend." Freddy stated, then he added,

"Anything else - or can I leave now?"

Mac and Flack exchanged a look and after a moment Mac replied,

"You're free to go - but you better don't think about leaving town..."


	10. Jigsaw Pieces

_**A/N:**__ And another one with only slight changes._

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_10. Jigsaw Pieces_

As they left the interrogation-room Flack asked,

"You think he's saying the truth?"

Mac frowned and remained silent for a while then he pointed out,

"Well, I think that it's at least worth to see if his story checks out..." He paused,

"Maybe Angell can tell us more about Sanchez and whether Scotty García has killed him or not..."

"Probably...Anyways, maybe Freddy actually says the truth and he really isn't mad at Jess for Scotty's arrest, but I honestly doubt his theory that a dirty cop's behind all of this - probably he only doesn't want to accept that his brother is even more screwed up than he himself is." Flack mused.

Mac only nodded in agreement, before saying,

"I'll meet you at the lab."

Seeing Flack nod Mac left the precinct.

_Back at the lab :_

Entering the break-room Mac smiled softly as he caught sight of Angell sitting at one of the tables.

"Jess?" He stated after a moment, but she didn't show a reaction,

"Jess, you're okay?" As she still didn't react a frown appeared on his face and he went closer to her.

Walking around the table to look at her face he immediately felt relieved as he saw that she had the ear-phones of her iPod plugged into her ears and just hadn't heard him.

As she noticed him a surprised expression appeared on her face and she turned the music off.

"What's up?" Angell asked after a moment.

Mac took a deep breath and stated,

"There are some new developments concerning the case...The others are already waiting in the conference-room."

Angell let out a soft sigh but nodded and got up. On the way out of the break-room she said,

"Hawkes mentioned you tried calling me..."

"Eh yeah, I was just wondering where you had gone...Anyways, how are you feeling?" Mac gave her a questioning look.

Angell frowned for a moment then she shrugged and stated,

"I'm gonna be okay, Mac...Don't worry..."

Mac only nodded and the rest of the way they remained both quiet.

Entering the conference-room and taking a seat Angell wanted to know,

"So, what's the matter?"

"You still remember the Sanchez case?" Flack asked and gave her a questioning glance.

"Yeah, after all, he was one of us...Why are you asking? The case was closed and the killer was arrested..." Angell replied.

"Well, Ramirez was killed with the same gun as Sanchez, and one of the guys who shot at us at the crime scene used it as well." Mac said, in Flack's place,

"We talked with Freddy García and he said that Scotty hasn't killed Sanchez."

"Of course he says that - Scotty is his li'l brother. But he basically confessed the murder - he knew each goddamn detail." Angell retorted angrily.

"Jess, I'm not attacking here, 'k?" Mac stated,

"But according to Freddy his brother wasn't the one pulling the trigger - he has only watched..."

"Scotty never mentioned that there was a second person involved in the murder...Why would he keep that to himself? - After all, Drew was a cop..." Angell inquired.

"Probably he didn't say anything because he was scared of the real killer. García implied that it was a dirty cop, who killed Sanchez, because he wanted to report him." Mac told her.

"And you believe that guy?" Angell gave him a questioning look,

"After all, he would probably do everything to get Scotty out of jail...Attempted murder included."

"It actually doesn't seem like he has anything to do with what happened this morning. When we mentioned the drive-by he seemed sincerely surprised. And furthermore, what would he gain if he killed you? - It won't get his brother free and he would end up in jail as well..." Mac pointed out.

Angell sighed and simply remained quiet for a moment then she asked,

"The guys from the drive-by were García's men, right?"

"Yeah, at least it seems that way...What's the matter?" Mac stated in response.

"Well, let's say Freddy said the truth and a dirty cop killed Drew to silence him and pinned the murder on Scotty, and Freddy had really no idea about Ramirez' death and the drive-by. Why would Freddy's guys shoot at us without his authorization?"

"Good point...Maybe they wanted to impress their boss?" Flack mused.

"Another possibilty, however, that theory has one huge flaw. I talked not only with Scotty during the investigation of Drew's death - I also talked with Freddy. And he's a lot of things but stupid is certainly not on the list. If someone had been killed in that drive-by the trace would have led straight to Freddy considering that one of them used the gun that had also killed Drew, and furthermore I put his brother behind bars. Every cop in this city would have been onto him...He probably won't have even made it 'til the trial. Freddy is way too smart to make a mistake like that." Angell pointed out.

"So, either Freddy is lying - or someone else is by now calling the shots without Freddy's knowledge." Stella spoke up.

"What do you know about Sanchez? Were there any indicators that he might have had dirt on a colleague?" Mac wanted to know after a few minutes of silence.

Angell shrugged then she started,

"We basically grew up together...Our dads used to be partners for about three years..." She trailed off, and a sad expression crossed her face.

"What is it?" Flack inquired, a trace of worry etched to his voice, as she didn't continue.

She let out a heavy sigh and said quietly,

"About two days before he was killed Drew called me. He sounded quite agitated, said that he needed to talk with me, though he refused to tell me what the matter was...I told him that I was working on a big case and that I'd call as soon as the case was solved - but before I could call he was killed." She paused for a moment,

"However, prior to his death Drew worked undercover. That's how we found the link to Freddy and his gang. We came to the conclusion that his cover had been blown somehow and he had to die because of it. But I know that Drew was damn careful, he won't have done anything that could have revealed that he was a cop..."

"So, maybe there's really a dirty cop involved - probably someone he knew. He confronted the person and was murdered before he could report the guy." Hawkes pointed out.

"Or the corrupt colleague asked for a meet to explain his actions, maybe tried to pay Sanchez off to keep his mouth shut, he refused and was killed." Danny added.

"One thing's for sure Drew would have reported the guy - no matter who it is...Maybe that was the reason for his call, maybe he was worried that he won't survive this..." Angell stated,

"Anyways, maybe Freddy can tell us who the dirty cop is, or can at least give us a description of the guy. After all, I'm quite sure that he wants to take that scumbag down just as much as we do..."

"Well, it's worth a try..." Flack agreed,

"I'll go and get him back to the precinct."

Seeing Mac nod in agreement Flack got up from his seat and left.

_Freddy's apartment, forty minutes later :_

Knocking against the door in front of him with his left hand, his right hand ready to draw his gun any second, Flack sighed.

"NYPD, open up we need to talk!" He called and knocked another few times,

"Come on, Freddy, don't make me break down the door!" After another moment of silent waiting, he sighed and gave one of the unis next to him a sign.

Only a few seconds later they had opened the door, but one look was enough to know that they were too late. The living-room resembled a battlefield and there was a trail of blood leading to one of the adjoining rooms.

Drawing his gun Flack followed the blood-trail along with one of the unis. Pushing the door open they saw Freddy lying on his bed. His body was covered with blood; his eyes were wide open in shock, maybe surprise; it seemed like he had been tortured prior to his death.

'_Damn' _Flack thought and pulled out his cell phone.

As his call was answered he stated,

"Mac? We got a problem...Freddy's dead - he can't help us to find Sanchez' killer..."

He heard Mac sigh on the other end of the line.

_"Well, I'll send Stella and Hawkes over to process the scene...Anything else?"_

"It seems like he was tortured..." Flack paused then he added,

"I'll try to get Scotty to the precinct, after all, he probably knows who framed him."

_"Okay..." _

A moment later they hung up. And Flack dialed another number.

_Tbc_


	11. A huge surprise

_**A/N:**__Well, here's the last of the chapters that had already been posted in the original version of this story, it's only slightly rewritten..._

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_11. A huge surprise_

Entering the precinct Flack couldn't help but get aware of his rapidly increasing headache. After all, as if what had happened to Angell and the events of the passed morning won't have been already enough to cause his mood to reach a new low - this entire case was simply goddamn frustrating!

It wasn't enough that someone had shot at Angell and him this morning, or the fact that a cop-killer - the guy who had killed Sanchez - might still be on the loose, no, of course it had to come even worse! But then again, when disaster stroke it tended to be more than just once, so why did the turn of events in the passed few hours surprise him so much?

Releasing a heavy sigh he felt once more his anger rising. God, he hated situations like this! After discovering Freddy's body he had tried to get Scotty García to the precinct. But unfortunately he had been too late - Scotty had been attacked by a couple of other inmates and was now in a coma, and therefore he won't be able to help them finding the guy who had really killed Sanchez. However, the most frustrating thing about this was the fact that it became more and more likely that they were really searching for a dirty cop.

Before he could get lost even more in his thoughts Flack's mind was forced back to reality by the voice of a colleague.

"Hey Flack, you happen to know if Angell will come in at all today?"

"I don't think so, Miller, why?" Flack asked in response.

"Well, there was something delivered for her earlier this afternoon." Miller said.

"Really? What was delivered - and by whom?" Flack inquired, a deep frown appearing on his face.

"I'm not quite sure, it's an envelope..." The young officer shrugged,

"The woman only said that the envelope was for Detective Angell and that she should get it as soon as possible, because the contents are extremely important." Miller replied.

"Where is the envelope now?" Flack wanted to know.

"Eh, here...I thought considering that the woman said it was important that it would be better to not just let it lie around." Miller told him and pulled the drawer of his desk open, before taking something out of it.

As Miller lifted the envelope Flack took it from him and stated,

"I'll give this to Angell."

Miller nodded and was about to focus back on the files in front of him when Flack spoke up once more,

"What did the woman look like?"

Miller looked once more up and frowned, then he answered,

"She was Latin-American, early thirties I think. Long black hair, brown eyes - there wasn't really anything out of the ordinary about her..." Miller shrugged.

Flack couldn't help but sigh, however, just as he was about to turn to leave Miller added,

"Hey Flack, wait..." As he turned back to look at Miller the other man continued,

"Actually there was something else...While she talked with me a little boy came in, maybe four years old, he waited a few feet away and when the woman left he followed her - might have been her child..."

"Thanks."

_At the lab, twenty-five minutes later :_

Heading inside the building Flack couldn't help but wonder once again about what could be inside that envelope. He had been tempted to simply open it and take a look at the contents, but eventually he had forced himself to ignore that urge, considering that this envelope was for Angell and he had no right to open it. On the other hand, there was no way of telling where it really came from or what was inside - and considering the events of the last twenty-four hours it might not be a good idea to simply give this to Angell, now was it?

Releasing a heavy sigh Flack chose to first search for Angell before trying to determine what to do with the envelope. Coming to the conclusion that the easiest way to find Angell at the moment was to simply ask Mac he headed to the CSI's office, a slightly upset expression crossing momentarily his face.

As Flack entered the office Mac looked up from the file he had been reading and wanted to know,

"What's up?"

"Eh, do you know where Angell is?" Flack asked.

"She went to get some coffee, why?"

"Well, when I stopped by at the precinct I was told that someone wanted to give this to her." Flack lifted the envelope.

"Do you know what's inside?" Mac inquired.

"Nope. And to be honest I'm not all that sure if it would be wise to simply give this to Jess..." Flack pointed out.

"Give me what?" He heard Angell's voice from behind him and he turned to look at her.

"An envelope that was brought to the precinct earlier." Flack told her reluctantly.

"An envelope?" Angell asked, eye-brows raised,

"And why don't you wanna give it to me?"

"_Because_ we don't know what's in it nor where it comes from." Flack said.

"Well, who brought it to the precinct?" Mac spoke up.

"A young Latina, at least that's what the officer who gave it to me said." Flack replied and shrugged.

"I really don't see how any of this would be a big deal..." Angell stated, annoyance etched to her voice.

"Well, you're probably right and it's really no big deal - but I'd prefer knowing that for sure _**before **_you open the envelope." Flack said in response.

"For Christ's sake - it's just a goddamn envelope!" Angell exclaimed and gave her partner an angry glance,

"I mean, what do you think is gonna happen when I open it, huh Flack?"

"I don't know, but considering the latest developments in this case - I simply think it would be better if we find out where this envelope actually comes from, before anybody opens it." Flack replied.

"I think Flack is right, I mean, even though it's quite unlikely that this envelope represents an actual threat - it's probably better to try to eliminate any potential risks." Mac stated, apparently wanting to avoid that they kept arguing about the issue,

"And besides opening it might destroy traces of the person who delivered this to the precinct."

"Fine...Do what ya want, I'll go and get myself some more coffee." Angell hissed and left.

Watching Angell head down the hallway Flack couldn't help but frown. It was quite obvious that the recent events had taken a toll on her, though of course he could understand that. Eventually he turned back to look at Mac and wanted to know,

"Were Hawkes and Stella able to find something useful in Freddy's apartment?"

"Well, we don't have any results yet, but I'll let you know when we got something." Mac replied and got up,

"Anyways I'll get this envelope to Lindsay."

"Okay, meanwhile I'll try to find something out about the guys who attacked Scotty García." Flack stated and left after handing Mac the envelope.

When Flack had left Mac took a deep breath and went to talk with Lindsay and give her the envelope.

_About ten minutes later :_

After he had handed the envelope to Lindsay and had told her to search for prints or any other kinds of traces Mac chose to first check on the progress of his other colleagues before doing anything else.

Walking up to Stella and Hawkes Mac inquired,

"How's it going?"

"Well, we found loads of finger-prints and other traces, though that's probably no surprise considering how messy García's apartment was." Stella stated.

"You got any results so far?"

"Unfortunately not yet." Hawkes replied.

Mac nodded slightly then he said,

"Alright, let me know when you got something." With that he left to have a chat with Danny, who was still going through evidence they had found at the crime scene earlier that day.

However, before he had the chance to talk with Danny his cell phone rang and he hurried to answer the call.

"Taylor."

_"Hey Mac, I'm done with the autopsy of Freddy García." _He heard Sid say on the other end of the line.

"I'll be right there." Mac stated and hung up, already changing direction and heading to autopsy.

As he approached Sid a few minutes later the other man turned to look at him and Mac inquired,

"So, what did you find?"

"Well, I can tell you right away that I didn't find anything surprising. Though it might be worth mentioning that unlike other gang leaders he wasn't doing any drugs - besides drinking every once in a while that is." Sid replied.

"What's the COD?" Mac asked.

"He bled out...And Flack was right he was most definitely tortured before he died. Take a look at his fingers..." As Mac did what he had been told, Sid continued,

"They're all broken, I assume that a pair of pliers was used to do this. Furthermore I found numerous burn-marks all over his body."

"So, the question is what did Freddy know that was so important to his killer..." Mac mused and frowned, after a moment of thinking he wanted to know,

"Anything else, Sid?"

"Nope." The ME said and handed Mac the autopsy report.

"Thanks." Mac stated and left.

On his way back up Mac got momentarily lost in his thoughts. This entire case was such a mess! The actual victim, Ramirez, had been killed with the same gun like Sanchez - whose killer had officially been caught almost two months ago. Their only known suspect in the murder of Ramirez had not only seemed to be not responsible for the murder and the following drive-by that morning, no he had also been killed as well a few hours ago. And his brother - the guy believed to be responsible for Sanchez' death - had been almost killed, before he could tell anyone who had framed him. What made the theory of a dirty cop being the real killer more and more plausible - and that fact led to a whole new set of questions and problems. They didn't have a name nor a description - no anything of that guy, and the only two people who could have been able to help them with this had been silenced by someone...

Eventually Mac released a heavy sigh, coming to the conclusion that thinking this much about any of this won't make it any easier to find answers - he would probably only get a terrible migraine if he kept trying to figure it out. A moment later he got interrupted in his train of thought when he heard someone call his name. Stopping and taking a look around he caught sight of Lindsay who signalled him to come to her.

"You got something?" Mac inquired when he had reached her.

"Yeah...I found several sets of finger-prints on the envelope." Lindsay answered.

"And?"

"Beside your and Flack's prints I found prints of four other persons. First of all, I found prints of an Officer Miller, according to his file he works at the 12th precinct..." While Lindsay spoke she put a picture of Miller on the screen in front of them,

"He works there now for about a year, his record is spotless...I guess he's the one who gave the envelope to Flack. Anyways, after I had identified Miller's prints it got strange." Lindsay trailed off.

"What do you mean with strange?" Mac wanted to know.

"Well, I found prints of a person I couldn't identify so far - could be prints of the woman who brought the envelope to the precinct, however, the strange thing is I found prints of Freddy García on the envelope..." Lindsay told him.

"So, the envelope comes originally from Freddy?" Mac mused.

"No." Lindsay said,

"I mean, he handled it, but it didn't originally belong to him."

"Then from whom does it come?" Mac gave her a questioning glance.

"I'm getting to it, Mac..." Lindsay stated and smiled,

"Like I said I found prints of six different people - you, Flack, Miller, Freddy and a fifth not yet identified person. However, the most interesting and also weirdest thing about this envelope is that the prints of the sixth person belong to Detective Drew Sanchez - who's already dead for two months. What led me to the conclusion that the contents of the envelope belonged to him - that assumption got confirmed when I opened the envelope and dusted the content for prints. The only prints I found belonged to Sanchez."

"And what was inside the envelope?" Mac asked.

"First of all, this memory-stick..." Lindsay gestured to mentioned item.

"You know what's on it?"

"Nope, the content of the memory-stick is encrypted and password-protected. However, considering that Sanchez wanted Angell to have this, she probably knows the password - or has at least an idea of what it could be. And if she doesn't Adam might be able to crack the encryption." Lindsay replied,

"Furthermore I found another, smaller envelope inside. It's sealed and has Angell's name on it as well..." With that she lifted the white envelope from the table.

"You opened it?" Mac wanted to know.

"Eh, no...I didn't see a reason to open it, after all, it's probably just letter and considering that Angell and Sanchez were friends I seriously doubt that any of the contents of the envelope represent a threat." Trailing off Lindsay gave him a questioning glance, before asking,

"You want me to give it to Angell?"

"No, I'll give it to her..." Mac replied after a moment of consideration and Lindsay handed him the envelope.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__I hope you liked this! Even though I'm already working on the next, all new chapter I honestly don't know yet when I will be finished with it...Anyways, please do me a favor and REVIEW!_


	12. A message from the Dead

_**A/N:**__ I know it took me quite a while, but here is finally the next chapter. Have fun reading!_

* * *

**Fix My Broken Wings**

_12. A message from the Dead_

As he caught sight of Angell sitting in a quiet corner of the break-room Mac stopped for a moment, simply observing her. He had been looking for her for quite a while after his conversation with Lindsay, and if he was honest with himself he had already started to become worried due to the fact that he hadn't found her right away.

"Angell?" He broke eventually the silence while closing the remaining space, causing her to turn to look at him. One look was enough for him to tell that she was totally exhausted, but he chose not to comment on it, instead he asked,

"How long are you already sitting here?"

Angell shrugged and mumbled,

"Dunno, a while I guess...Were you looking for me?"

"Actually I was...I wanted to give you something." With that he placed the envelope Lindsay had given him on the table.

"What is that?" Angell wanted to know, taking the envelope into her left hand and studying it more carefully.

"I don't know, probably a letter. It was in the envelope Flack brought here from the precinct." Mac replied.

"I thought you decided I'm not supposed to get it or any of its content..." Angell pointed out, a trace of anger etched to her voice.

"No, Jess, I only wanted to first make sure that the content of the bigger envelope wasn't a threat to anyone before you or somebody else got to open it. And since it turned out to be harmless and considering the fact that it was meant for you there's no reason for not giving this to you..."

"You figured already out where the envelope came from?"

"Well, we weren't able to identify the woman who delivered it to the precinct, however, we know that Freddy Gracía had access to it and we found out that it originally comes from Drew Sanchez."

At the name of her killed friend a sad expression crossed her face, eventually Angell frowned for a moment before she eyed Mac suspiciously and inquired,

"Was there something else in it beside this second envelope?"

"Yes, it also contained a password-protected memory-stick. How did you know?" Mac replied.

"I knew Drew, he won't have bothered putting the small envelope in a second, bigger one if it was the only thing he wanted me to have." She stated and smirked, before demanding to know,

"Why didn't you tell me right away about the memory-stick as well?"

"Considering the fact that the memory-stick is protected by a password, I simply came to the conclusion that it probably makes more sense to give you first the letter...And I'm quite sure that it's gonna be safe with Lindsay 'til you read the letter."

Angell remained silent for a while, apparently contemplating about his words eventually she nodded slightly and said,

"I guess that makes sense..."

As Angell got once more lost in her thoughts Mac studied slightly worried her appearance, once more noticing the exhaustion written all over her face. Eventually he told her,

"Listen Jess, I'm gonna give you some time for yourself so you can read the letter, okay? I'm gonna be in my office..."

Angell nodded slightly and smiled, before saying,

"Thanks, Mac..."

"No problem." Mac assured, before turning around and heading for his office.

As Mac was gone Angell simply closed her eyes, trying to calm her racing mind. Opening them again she took another careful look at the envelope Mac had given her. It was quite thick and had her name on it. She couldn't deny that she wasn't quite sure if she really wanted to know what was in the envelope, but on the other end she knew that it might lead them to the person who had really killed Drew.

After another moment of hesitation she eventually forced herself to open the envelope. As she took the content out of the envelope she felt how her heart started beating faster, unsure of what she should expect.

In the end it turned out to be three things - a letter, which consisted of four pages; two photographs and an old-looking metall key of medium size. For a moment she only studied the key, a frown appearing on her face as she came to the conclusion that it looked somehow familiar, before she took a short glance at the two photos.

The first one showed Drew and her when they had been kids. The second one showed a Latin-American woman with a little boy on her arm. She was smiling happily in the camera and waved with the child's hand to the person who had taken the picture, while the boy was laughing cheerfully.

While still wondering who that woman and boy were Angell took a sip of her coffee, which had gone cold by now. A moment later she unfolded the letter, took a deep breath and started reading.

_Dear Jess,_

_right now I'm about to get that much closer to finish the investigation I've been busy with those passed months. I'm writing you this letter partly as one of several precautions I've been taking for the unfortunately quite likely case that I won't return home tonight. Even though I know that the odds are against me I sincerely hope that taking these precautions will turn out to be unnecessary and that I will be able to tear this letter up into pieces in a few hours._

_If you're reading these lines I didn't make it out of this alive and I'm counting on you to wrap the case up for me. Along with this letter you should have also received a couple of other things, including a memory-stick and a key...The memory-stick is protected by a password only you know, furthermore the content is encrypted for the case that it ends up in the wrong hands. On it you will find everything about the case - surveillance footage, photos, audio files and a couple of other important things you should know. As for the key, you will need it to get access to the evidence I collected throughout the passed weeks, since I know that you lost yours years ago. However, the box itself is gonna be well-hidden by the time you're reading this and I'm not gonna mention where it is for the case that someone else beside you will read my letter, but I'm sure you're gonna find it nonetheless._

_But beside the fact that I want you to close the case for me I have a couple of other reasons for writing this letter. I can't deny that at first you might get confused, wondering about the connection between all the things I'm about to tell you in this letter, however, in the end you will understand..._

_I gotta admit that I'm not quite sure where to start here considering that things are by far more complicated than they might look like at first glance. However, I guess it makes most sense if I start with filling you in on the case I've been working on..._

_Since I'm not sure what you already know about my undercover assignment by the time that you read this I'm gonna tell you the basics._

_Like you know I'm working now organized crime cases. Well, about three months after my transfer to Organized Crimes several of our informants were killed. Prior to their death they had told us that Frederic García and his gang might be planning something big. Homocide agreed to let us take the lead due to the fact that their deaths were obviously linked to organized crime. Since we wanted to avoid spooking the responsible people it was decided that one of us should go undercover. _

_It somehow surprised me that they gave that assignment to me considering that I was the new guy and all, but after a while of thinking I chose not to protest about it. I'm aware that my motives might seem questionable since you will soon find out about my personal connection to Freddy and Scotty García, however, I can assure you that I accepted my supervisor's decision determined to put the person who had killed our informants behind bars - no matter who it would turn out to be. _

_I can already tell you that neither Freddy nor his brother Scotty were involved in those murders. Freddy might be the boss of the gang and Scotty might be a bit eager to belong to them as well - but they aren't killers. _

_You might be wondering why I'm so sure of that - you're might even considering at the moment that my relation to them is clouding my judgement, but I can tell you that's not the case. Throughout the months I worked undercover I became more and more aware that someone his trying to take over the entire gang, endangering not only Freddy's life but also the lives of his family._

_That's why Freddy agreed to help me with the investigation just like Scotty, they introduced me to everybody, backing up my cover...I trust both of them with my life and in fact Freddy will accompany me later and observe everything, if things go wrong he will ensure that none of the evidence will just vanish. I also made sure that Freddy would arrange for you to get everything you need to finish what I've started. However, I leave it to him when he will give these things to you, and I'm quite sure that he will wait for the perfect moment to do it. _

_I'm not only writing this letter because I trust you blindly, I'm also writing it because I'm gonna need to ask you for a favor. Before I tell you specifics about that favor I will explain to you my relation to Freddy since both things are directly linked..._

_You might have already wondered about the significance of that second photo I've put into this smaller envelope along with the letter. The woman is Freddy's sister Rosa. I met her a bit more than five years ago. At first I didn't know that Freddy is her older brother, but I doubt that knowing it would have been able to keep me from falling in love with her. I can't deny that I've been kinda shocked when I found out who she was and I can tell you that Freddy wasn't pleased to hear that his li'l sister was dating a cop. But for some reason he eventually accepted it...A few months later Rosa told me that she was pregnant. I wanted to do the right thing and take responsibility, wanted to marry her, but when I asked her she said no. She said that we don't need to be married in order to be happy, that she believed that it was actually better if we weren't married, and in the end both, me and Freddy, agreed that she was right, that it would really be the best for everyone involved to keep things the way they were. _

_I kept seeing Rosa, I was there when our son Andrew was born and I made sure that they had everything they needed - just like I would have done if we had gotten married..._

_So far only Rosa's two brothers know about her relationship with me - that I'm Andrew's dad, but I'm not sure if that will stay this way much longer now that I'm gone..._

_I know that her brothers would rather die than telling anyone, but unfortunately it doesn't look like that's gonna be enough. Rosa and Andy were my world, they don't deserve to live in fear, so please make sure that they will be safe._

_At the moment Freddy can still protect them, but it doesn't seem like he will be able to keep doing so for much longer. I've already mentioned that Freddy is already on the best way to lose control over his gang, if one of them finds out that Rosa was dating me, an undercover cop, that guy will succeed._

_With this explained I'm gonna focus back on my undercover assignment, on the most recent developments in the case to be more precisely._

_From pretty much the beginning we were certain that the killer must be one of our own since those guys that got killed were confidential informants - nobody beside a few people on the force and someone from the DA's office knew that they were working for us. Throughout the time I worked undercover I had to quickly face the fact that the person behind the murders is indeed a dirty cop. However, it wasn't until short after we had talked on the phone that I managed to figure out that it happens to be my former partner - Chuck Davis, who's actually been the reason why I got tranfered to organized crimes in the first place..._

_Well, I assume I should probably tell you the whole story from the start..._

_Like already mentioned Chuck and I used to be partners - until I requested for certain reasons a transfer about a year ago, after only working with him for barely more than six months. One of those reasons was that I didn't like his methods. However, the main reason was because one day I ran into his girlfriend, Georgia Andrews, while questioning someone at a hospital. She had been brought there the night before with some serious injuries. Since I had met her before I went to talk with her for a moment, asked her what had happened and she confided in me, she told me about all the things Chuck had done to her, told me that he was beating her - that he had raped her. I told her to press charges against him and eventually she did - two days later she was suddenly dead. I knew that Chuck was involved, that he had killed her because he knew that if she was able to testify he would go to jail. But since it looked like a suicide there was nothing I could've done about it, so instead of trying to prove that he killed Georgia I reported his illegal methods and requested a transfer._

_There was an IA investigation and Chuck was already almost fired when his stepfather pulled some strings, causing Internal Affairs to reconsider their decision. Chuck knows that I'm responsible for him almost getting fired, that I had been the one who had supported Georgia when she had pressed charges against him - and ever since then he has been searching a way to take revenge on me._

_That was actually also the reason for my call two days ago. I know that you and Chuck have recently started dating. You see, his current partner, Mike Falacci, happens to be a good friend of mine (I think you actually met him at my birthday two or three years ago) and considering that he knows that we grew up together he told me about you and Chuck. _

_Considering that I know too well the real Chuck I can assure you that all the rumors about him are true - he is not only extremely violent, but also corrupt and a killer. And while the knowledge of what he has done to Georgia is already enough reason for me to wanna make sure that you stop seeing him immediately, I'm also worried that dating you is nothing but a part of his plan to take revenge on me._

_Please listen to me and leave him before it is too late! He might still pretend at the moment that he's such a nice guy, but it's only a question of time before he will show his real face and I simply don't want you to go through the same hell as Georgia, I don't want you to get hurt like that. So I'm begging you - end this relationship immediately!_

_After all, you deserve to be with someone who loves you, someone who makes you happy...If I'm honest I actually thought you already found someone who could do that after I ran into your dad a few weeks ago and he told me how happy you had recently seemed to him. Therefore you can probably understand my surprise when Mike told me about you and Chuck - since I know for a matter of fact that he's first of all absolutely not your type and could furthermore never make you happy._

_Well, even though I could keep writing for hours I have to finish this letter at this point considering that it's already quite late by now. I really wish I could see you once more and have another of those long conversations like we used to do when we were kids, though that's very unlikely to happen..._

_Please don't feel bad or even responsible for my death, after all, I knew that what I was doing was dangerous, but I'm sure that you can understand that I had to do it nonetheless. Make sure that Rosa and Andy will be okay and tell them I love them._

_But most of all be careful and take good care of yourself..._

_Drew_

After she had read the letter Angell felt once more tears at the back of her eyes. Only a few seconds later she quickly grabbed the things that had been in the envelope, got up and left the break-room.

She wasn't sure why but all of sudden she felt terrible. She felt slightly nauseous and felt heat rushing throughout her entire body - like she was suddenly running a high fever - her chest felt like something, or someone was pressing it tightly together; her entire body was shaking and she could barely breathe.

As she headed in such a hurry for the elevator, blind to her surroundings, all she could think about was that she had to get outside, that she needed fresh air - or she would suffocate...

However, just a few steps away from the elevator her mind was forced back to reality by a sudden, clattering sound as she almost ran into someone.

While Hawkes crouched down to pick up the clipboard he had dropped Angell bit her bottom lip. When he straightened up she muttered barely above a whisper,

"Sorry, Doc..."

Hearing that Hawkes shook slowly his head and told her, a smile on his face,

"Don't worry, Angell, nothing happened...And besides, I should probably focus on where I'm going instead of reading anyways." While talking Hawkes took a closer look at Angell and a worried frown appeared on his face. She was extremely pale, her entire body was shaking and her eyes were glistening with tears. After a moment of consideration he wanted to know,

"You're okay?"

"Yeah, just a little distracted..." Angell replied quickly and forced a smile on her lips.

Studying carefully her appearance the frown on Hawkes' face deepened and he inquired,

"Really? You're as white as a sheet and your entire body is shaking..."

"Just need some fresh air that's all..." Angell assured and moved to get finally to the elevator.

When Angell stepped around him Hawkes let out a soft sigh, not being convinced at all by what she had said. Just as he was about to continue on his way to talk with Danny he stopped when Angell spoke up once more.

"Hey Hawkes..."

Turning toward her he gave her a questioning glance and asked,

"Yeah, Angell?"

"Eh, could you maybe sent this to Flack's cell and tell him to ask the officer who gave him the envelope if this is the woman who brought it to the precinct?" She lifted the photo of Rosa and Andy.

"Sure, I'll get to it right away..." Hawkes stated in response and she gave him the photograph.

"Thanks." With that Angell turned around and disappeared in the elevator.

_Tbc_

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Thanks for reading, I hope you like the update and that it was worth all the waiting! I'm not quite sure when I'll update again, though I'll try to get the update done faster this time...Anyways, in the meantime I'd be grateful for some feedback, so please do me a favor and REVIEW!_


End file.
